What is a Mobile Team In-Service Training Unit?

A Mobile Team In-Service Training Unit is defined as “an organization formed by a combination of units of local government…to deliver in-service training to local and state law enforcement officers…” The Mobile Team Unit (MTU) is formed through an intergovernmental agreement and typically includes the joint participation of from two, to as many as one hundred, units of local government. It is a not-for-profit governmental entity directed and administered by an advisory board composed of local elected officials, local criminal justice administrators and the Director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

What is the purpose of Mobile Team in-service law enforcement training?

It is to encourage local and state law enforcement officers to upgrade their knowledge and skills in techniques pertinent to the law enforcement profession; to provide law enforcement officers with training opportunities within their own locality, and on flexible schedules; and to provide quality training on topics of instruction centered on specific local needs.

What are the benefits of Mobile Team in-service training?

Professional Development – The officer becomes better trained to perform his/her assigned job duties. An officer who is well trained and professional in his/her approach to the job will be a definite asset to the department, as well as to the community. The establishment of a Mobile Team In-Service Training Unit provides the structure by which permanent law enforcement officers are able to receive “continued training” throughout their careers.

• Illinois as well as other states, is comprised of a multiplicity of local law enforcement agencies, many of which are quite small. These smaller agencies often lack sufficient budget allocations to allow non-basic, in-service training expenditures for their officers. Mobile Team In-Service Training is structured so that undue strain is not placed upon departmental budgets. Monies are allocated in such a fashion so that cost does not become a prohibitive factor acting to preclude agency participation. Time and money losses due to travel are eliminated or reduced, ultimately resulting in budgetary savings to the department.
  
  
• The Board funds 16 Mobile Team Units, which collectively have the capability to serve every Illinois jurisdiction. This established training network is capable of delivering programs to every permanent law enforcement officer in Illinois. This wide-range training availability is a unique advantage of Mobile Team Unit participation.
  
  
• Accessibility – Mobile Team Units arrange training courses to accommodate the specific needs and schedules of the departments and their personnel.
  
  
• ILETSB has assumed a position of non-interference with regard to the day-to-day operations of the Mobile Team Units. Mobile Team Units must set their own goals and objectives, within the scope of the Police Training Act, and then implement the administrative and operational structures necessary to achieve those goals and objectives. An advisory board controls each MTU. Local control allows for the development and administration of training programs that are designed to meet the unique and special needs of law enforcement in a given geographical area.
  
  
• Topics of instruction and course curricula are limited only by the imagination and by dictated need. The Mobile Team Units have the freedom and autonomy to contract with individuals as well as public and private law enforcement academies and training enterprises for the delivery of specific training courses. This flexibility allows each MTU the opportunity to enhance the overall quality of training.

How do Mobile Teams qualify to receive financial assistance from the State of Illinois?

The amount of state funds that a mobile team may receive shall equal up to fifty percent of the total approved budget of that mobile team. These funds are appropriated annually by the General Assembly for the administration of the Police Training Act, ILETSB, and the Executive Director of the ILETSB in determining the amount of funds to be disbursed to each Mobile Team Unit. Each unit of local government is assessed a membership fee by the Mobile Team Unit on an annual basis. This fee qualifies the department and officers for unlimited participation in the scheduled training courses. The fee is established at a fair and equitable level to encourage maximum participation.

What does the training method offer?

Mobile Team Units provide law enforcement organizations and their personnel with a method and system for keeping pace with change. The MTU monitors, identifies and assesses the impact of change upon the individual, the organization, and the community.

What is the function of the Mobile Team Unit?

Mobile Team Units operate in a supportive role, serving participating units of government and law enforcement agencies. The primary focus is training, although, in many cases the unit and its staff members may provide additional service and technical guidance in the areas of recruitment and selection, management, planning, policy formulation, etc. The administration of regionalized training for law enforcement personnel is the major enterprise of the Mobile Team Units.

Whom do I contact for more information?

In order to receive additional information concerning the Intergovernmental Law Enforcement Officers In-Service Training Act, please contact:

Should you wish to receive information pertaining to a specific Mobile Team Unit which has been designated to serve your area; or wish to learn more about specific training courses scheduled for delivery in your area, please refer to our website or contact your local Mobile Team Unit Director.