The state sets the standard. Agencies make the appointment.

Three separate records, three separate questions

COLE is a regulator, not a police department. It does not command sheriffs or chiefs, direct patrol, set budgets or ration K9 teams. Its small Criminal Investigations Division investigates commission fraud, forged credentials and impersonation statewide, and nothing else.

From applicant to commissioned officer

1. 01 · Player

   Join the community

   Every department except County Law Enforcement needs community membership first. CLE takes newcomers directly.

2. 02 · Player

   Join departments

   Apply to as many as you like: CLE, MP, GS, SAFR. Acceptance is for you, not a character.

3. 03 · Character

   Enrol with COLE

   Rank the agencies of your departments you want to be appointed by. Your first choice's class sets the track.

4. 04 · Player

   Written academy

   Pass each module once. Your other characters carry it across with a realistic score of your choosing.

5. 05 · Character

   Practicals in game

   The practicals your class needs, run and scored by COLE instructors.

6. 06 · Agency

   Offer and appointment

   An agency you ranked makes an offer. You accept one; COLE confirms, certifies and records the commission, and the job is set.

1. 1
   Peace officer authority, jurisdiction and mutual aidEvery class · Certification, commission and jurisdiction; the Class A-F commissions; concurrent jurisdiction and primary responsibility; the Route 68 county line and 911 routing; every lawful route outside jurisdiction; and the federal constitutional law that binds every state officer (Acts I and VII, U.S. Const. art. VI and amend. XIV).
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
2. 2
   COLE certification, accreditation and accountabilityEvery class · What COLE is and is not, certification and appointment, decertification and due process, voluntary accreditation and grants, complaints and misconduct reporting, the duty to intervene and report, Brady and Giglio consequences for officer credibility, and civil and criminal liability under federal and San Andreas law (Acts II, III, IV and VI; 42 U.S.C. § 1983; 18 U.S.C. § 242; 34 U.S.C. § 12601).
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
3. 3
   Ethics, professionalism and the justice systemEvery class · Color of law, gratuities and bribery (SAPC ch. 36), abuse of office (ch. 39), perjury and false reports (ch. 37 and §38.81), the duty to intervene, Garrity, the roles of courts, prosecutors and defense in JusticeLink, procedural justice, bias-free policing and equal protection, off-duty conduct, social media and confidentiality.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
4. 4
   The Constitution, courts and civil rights in policingEvery class · How the U.S. Constitution binds every San Andreas officer, the hierarchy of legal authority, reading a holding, the exclusionary rule, qualified immunity and civil-rights liability, First and Second Amendment policing, equal protection and due process.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
5. 5
   Principles of criminal lawEvery class · Elements, culpable mental states, offense grades, parties, inchoate offenses, Chapter 9 justification, entrapment and double jeopardy, from SAPC Chapters 1, 6, 7, 9 and 15 and the controlling federal decisions.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
6. 6
   Crimes against personsClass A, B, C, F · Homicide, assault and family violence, threats and stalking, restraint and kidnapping, trafficking, sexual offenses and robbery under SAPC Chapters 19 to 22 and 29, with the First Amendment limits on threat prosecutions.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
7. 7
   Property, fraud and financial crimesClass A, B, C, D, F · Theft and vehicle offenses, receiving stolen property, burglary and trespass, criminal mischief and arson, forgery and fraud, computer crimes, money laundering and extortion under SAPC Chapters 28 and 30 to 34, with the Fourth Amendment limits on property and digital searches.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
8. 8
   Public order, justice-system and organized crime offensesEvery class · Disorderly conduct, riot and assembly offenses within First Amendment limits, recording police, bribery, perjury and false reports, impersonation, resisting and obstruction, escape and contraband, abuse of office, gambling, organized crime and terrorism under SAPC Chapters 36 to 39, 42, 47, 71 and 72.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
9. 9
   Encounters, detentions and arrestClass A, B, C, D, F · Consensual encounters, seizures, reasonable suspicion and tips, stop scope and length, frisks, identification, traffic stops, checkpoints, probable cause, arrest authority, de facto arrests, home arrests and prompt probable-cause review, under the Fourth Amendment, Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit authority and SAPC ch. 38.
   30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
10. 10
    Searches, warrants and the exclusionary ruleClass A, B, C, D, F · What counts as a search, standing, warrants and their execution, every major warrant exception, and the exclusionary rule and its exceptions, under the Fourth Amendment and the Supreme Court cases officers must know.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
11. 11
    Interviews, interrogation and identificationClass A, B, C, D, F · Miranda custody, interrogation, waiver and invocation, voluntariness, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, eyewitness identification law and procedure, and practical interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects without producing false confessions.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
12. 12
    Use of force, de-escalation and deadly forceEvery class · Objective reasonableness and the totality of the circumstances, SAPC ch. 9 justification, deadly force and vehicles, qualified immunity, Tasers, chemical agents, impact munitions and dogs, people in crisis, prone restraint, force in custody, and the duties to intervene, render aid and report.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
13. 13
    Prisoner handling, transport and detainee rightsEvery class · Searching and restraining arrestees, positional asphyxia, medical care and deliberate indifference, transport, booking, deadlines and release, juveniles, suicide risk, escape under SAPC ch. 38C, and the custody duty to protect.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
14. 14
    Patrol operations and officer safetyClass A, B, C, F · Officer safety, contact and cover, unknown- and high-risk vehicle stops, building and area searches, calls for service, foot and vehicle pursuits, county lines and 911 routing, community caretaking, radio discipline and body-worn cameras, under the Fourth Amendment, Acts I, V and VII and the SAPC.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
15. 15
    Traffic law and enforcementClass A, B, F · SATC rules of the road, moving and non-moving violations, licensing, registration, equipment and speed; citation versus custodial arrest; and the Fourth Amendment limits on stops, vehicle searches and checkpoints.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
16. 16
    Impaired driving and collision investigationClass A, B, F · SATC chapter 49V intoxication offenses, reasonable suspicion and probable cause for DWI, field sobriety evidence, implied consent and blood testing, Miranda and home-entry limits, chapter 550 crash duties, scene management and collision evidence.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
17. 17
    Weapons and controlled substancesClass A, B, C, F · The Second Amendment after Heller, Bruen and Rahimi, SAPC chapter 46 carry, prohibited-person, NFA, discharge and knife offenses, SAHSC chapter 481 penalty groups and distribution, constructive and joint possession, field identification limits, dog sniffs and safe handling.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
18. 18
    Family violence, protective orders and juvenilesClass A, B, F · Family-violence offenses and scene practice, protective orders and disarmament, child abuse and custody offenses, consent and emergency entry in shared homes, and how minors are questioned, searched and routed to juvenile court (SAPC ch. 22 and 25, SAFC ch. 51, 85 and 261, and the controlling federal cases).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
19. 19
    People in crisis, mental health and de-escalationClass A, B, C, E, F · Emergency mental-health detention under the Fourth Amendment and SAHSC chapter 574, home entry, de-escalation, force on people in crisis, suicide intervention, restraint asphyxia, medical look-alikes, disability and when to call EMS.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
20. 20
    Evidence, reports and courtroom testimonyEvery class · Crime-scene protection, collection and chain of custody, forensic and digital evidence, disclosure duties, the Confrontation Clause, probable-cause affidavits, report and use-of-force writing, body-camera footage, and truthful testimony under cross-examination (SAPC ch. 37, 37C, 38 and 39).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
21. 21
    Communications, CAD/NCIC and recordsEvery class · Radio discipline and plain language, 911 routing and jurisdiction on the air, CAD entries as records, lawful-purpose records and NCIC queries, warrant and hit confirmation, registered-owner inferences, BOLOs, privacy and dissemination, juvenile confidentiality and records retention (SAPC ch. 33, 38 and 39).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
22. 22
    Critical incidents and emergency operationsClass A, B, C, E, F · Incident command, active threats, officer-down care, hazardous materials, mass-casualty triage, perimeters and evacuation, terrorism, mutual aid under Act VII and media relations, with the San Andreas offenses that arise at each.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
23. 23
    State Police and Highway Patrol missionClass B · Class B mission limits and the routes outside them, highway enforcement, commercial motor vehicle, size and weight and CDL law, closely regulated inspections under Burger, hazardous materials, state property, mutual aid and coordination with county and city agencies.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
24. 24
    Institutional and protective policeClass C · Class C authority for SAPS inside its designated schedule, the boundary and hand-off, mutual aid limits, protective details, campus and facility searches, and trespass enforcement (Acts I, V and VII, SAPC ch. 30, and the federal cases that bind every officer).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
25. 25
    Special enforcement and COLE investigationsClass D · Class D powers limited to designated offenses, the COLE Criminal Investigations mandate, officer-misconduct investigations (Garrity, Brady and Giglio, 18 U.S.C. § 242), regulatory inspections, financial and organized crime (SAPC ch. 34 and 71), affidavits and joint investigations.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
26. 26
    Fire and arson investigationClass D · The Class D fire investigator commission, SAPC chapter 28 arson and related fire, explosive and hazardous-materials offenses, fire scene entry and warrants (Michigan v. Tyler, Michigan v. Clifford, Camara), origin-and-cause method, evidence and disclosure, interviews, fatal fires and joint investigations, and scene safety.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
27. 27
    Transportation enforcementClass D · The Class D course for expressly commissioned SADOT enforcement officers: commission limits and hand-offs, commercial vehicle, CDL, size and weight and hazmat law (SATC ch. 644, 621, 522; SAHSC ch. 505; SAAC §30.01), Burger inspections, work zones and infrastructure, incident and crash scenes, detention law and reports.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
28. 28
    Corrections and custodial authorityClass E · Class E custodial authority under Act VIII, lawful intake and JusticeLink booking, classification, detainee and prisoner rights, force, searches, discipline, medical and suicide duties, and contraband and escape (SAPC ch. 38C).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
29. 29
    Reserve and special commissionsClass F · What a Class F appointment does and does not grant, supervision and scope limits, when a reserve may and may not act alone, off-duty status, carrying, mutual aid limits and documentation, with the constitutional and liability rules that apply to every officer (Acts I, III and VII; SAPC; federal law).
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide
30. 30
    Specialized operations: K9 and tactical teamsSpecialist · optional · Optional specialist module: Act V unit and team certification, dog sniffs and alerts, K9 apprehension as force, tactical warrants and knock-and-announce, detaining occupants, barricades and crisis negotiation, and after-action reporting.
    30 questions · 45 minStudy guide

Practicals, observed by an instructor

Practicals belong to the character, so every character completes its own. Find a COLE instructor at the academy in game; they record the result here the same day.

Fair, strict and the same for everyone