Public Information Officer

EXL011 – 24.00 Hours

Schedule

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Currently there are no scheduled classes for this course. However, in some cases a course can be scheduled to meet your organization’s specific needs. For more information about this course or to schedule a class, please contact Extension at (979) 500-6506 or [email protected] to get the latest schedule.

Course Description

Male law enforcement officer speaking to a reporter at the scenePublic information is the official, accurate, and accessible communication provided by a public agency to ensure the public understands events, decisions, risks, and actions that affect their safety, well-being, or daily life. This information is critical to make decisions and take actions to save lives, reduce injury and harm, and protect property. Under the provisions of HB 33, certain law enforcement agencies are required to have a designated public information officer (PIO) (Texas Government Code § 411.3735). Those agencies subject to this requirement are:

  • A municipal police department,
  • A sheriff’s office,
  • A county constable’s office,
  • A school district police department, and
  • The Texas Department of Public Safety.

Successful completion of this course fulfills the statutory Public Information Officer training requirements as outlined in HB 33. This course is offered under the Regional Extension – Law Enforcement course suite and meets Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) requirements TEEX Public Information Officer Course #667378.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Enrollment Requirements

Participants enrolling in this course must meet one of the following employment statuses. Please ensure the affiliation on your student account reflects one of the following:

  • Licensed or certified peace officer with a current commission employed by or attached to a law enforcement/investigative agency
  • Civilian employed by a law enforcement/investigative agency conducting investigative tasks or duties

Participants will be contacted via email to confirm approval and admittance into the course.

Course Completion Requirements

Participants must provide information for all required fields, including their U.S. citizenship/permanent resident information, in addition to meeting all other attendance and course completion requirements. If this information is not provided, the participant will be considered incomplete and will not receive a certificate of completion.

Participant Must Provide

  • A photo identification on the first day of class. See the Participant Handbook for approved forms of identification and additional guidelines.
  • Laptop or tablet

Attendance Requirements

Class attendance is an essential part of the education process, and participants in TEEX courses are expected to attend all class sessions and field exercises. The course requires participants to attend a minimum of 100% of the class hours as a component of successful course completion. During the course, your instructor will review any additional attendance requirement, for example a field exercise that cannot be missed.

In some cases, make-up work will not be available (due to equipment/facility needs and/or safety/teamwork components or activity setup/facilitation/requirements).

Participants in a TCOLE credit eligible course must complete the class in its entirety to receive a TEEX Certificate of Completion and be reported for TCOLE credit.

If you have additional questions, please refer to the TEEX Participant Handbook.

Upon successful completion, you will be able to:

  • Summarize the linkage and importance of public media to the role of a Public Information Officer (PIO) and the agency’s approach to information sharing.
  • Outline the roles, responsibilities, critical functions, and relationships needed to be an effective PIO across all delivery audiences.
  • Outline legal considerations around PIO program administration and information sharing.
  • Outline the considerations and messaging require to be a responsive and effective PIO across a variety of audience needs and delivery modes.
  • Demonstrate the ability to develop effective messages for a news interview.
  • Discuss on-scene management parameters to ensure compliance with laws and NIMS/ICS while meeting the needs of the media and delivering consistent, quality messaging.
  • Discuss public information messaging/sharing within the context of the Joint Information System.
  • Outline key considerations to plan and prepare for a successful new conference.
  • Discuss use of social media within the PIO role for information sharing.
  • Complete PIO practical application activities for a given scenario.

Suggested Audience

  • State of Texas peace officers or other law enforcement personnel

Continuing Education And Professional Credits

Note: Live Online Instructor-Led (webinar) courses are not eligible for TCOLE credit.

  • 24.00 hours – Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)

Contact Information

Extension
Phone: (979) 500-6506
Email: [email protected]

Payment Info

Regional Extension course offerings are provided as a state-funded service for State of Texas peace officers only. Please visit the Regional Extension – Law Enforcement page to learn more.

If you have general course registration questions, please refer to the Course Registration FAQs page.