Consumer Protection Online Training Course for Police Officers

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

This is a new program, coordinated through the Police Training Academy, to provide police officers with enhanced information to enable officers to respond to calls for assistance by providing more than the traditional response. Montgomery County Police officers (MCP) are frequently called to the scene of disputes involving consumer protection transactions that result in the threat or fear of personal injury. However, police officers ordinarily do not receive training on consumer protection laws. Therefore, officers may be unaware of how best to resolve the underlying incident beyond solely preventing the situation from escalating into an assault and battery or other breach of peace. For example, transactions with a moving company may result in a call for police assistance. A moving company may load a consumer’s household items onto its truck, but then demand payment of more than the original price quote in order to unload the consumer’s goods hostage until payment is made. Prior to this training, the officer may be unaware that, in Maryland, it is illegal to hold a consumer’s possessions in exchange for payment for moving services. This consumer protection online training course provides officers with consumer protection related information in 9 key areas to increase their ability to effectively respond on the scene.