The Challenges of E-Learning in the French Police Nationale

Abstract

This paper aims at studying the shortcomings and strengths of the French Law Enforcement administration in the use of E-learning with a focal point on the Police Nationale. The evolution of law enforcement knowledge, techniques, and materials, and even regulations and professional recommendations make continuing education for the Law enforcement professions more essential than ever. Despite the extraordinary rise in digital technology in the training and education field, the French Police Nationale refused for a long time to take the turn of digital progress in the training it offered to cadets but also to experienced officers on the grounds that it was inefficient and approximative in the completion of Police Training. Reputedly monolithic and hard to modernize, the Law Enforcement system in France was reluctant if not closed to the idea of using a tool they saw as unprofessional and unserious. The COVID-19 pandemic shattered their certainties. Unable to give in-person trainings but having to ensure the continuity of curriculums, the French Police Nationale training department had to think out of the box. Facing reluctance, mistrust and sometimes lack of skills from its agents, a cumbersome process ensued for the administration with the construction of a new online training structure, the hiring of new digital experts and education-specialised civilians and the funding for new digital tools to implement quality courses. New training ideas emerged with these new recruits and new tools. Soon, major e-learning projects were achieved, among which the cadet training curriculum and the national language program are now the best examples.