SECTION 116C. Development and establishment of course on use and application of technology to increase public safety; regional and municipal police training schools

(a) The municipal police training committee shall develop and establish within the recruit basic training curriculum a course for regional and municipal police training schools on or before January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven for the training of law enforcement officers in the commonwealth in law enforcement and related public safety technology. The course of instruction shall stress the use and application of technology to increase public safety.

As used in this section, ''law enforcement officer'' shall mean any officer of a municipal police department, the office of environmental law enforcement, the University of Massachusetts, the department of the state police or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority police department.

(b) The course of basic training for law enforcement officers shall, no later than January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, include, but not be limited to, at least twenty hours of instruction in the use and application of the following:

(1) introduction to computer technology;

(2) use of the department of criminal justice information services law enforcement agencies processing system;

(3) general office automation applications;

(4) data usage and system security policy and procedure; and

(5) introduction to mobile computing.

(c) All law enforcement recruits shall receive the course of basic training for law enforcement officers, established in subsections (a) and (b), as part of their required certification process.

(d) The course of instruction in law enforcement technology shall be taught so that there will not be an increase in the currently required four hundred and eighty hours of recruit training curriculum.

(e) The course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives, the standards for training, and the guidelines shall be developed by the municipal police training committee in consultation with the executive office of public safety, the office of management information systems, the department of criminal justice information services, and other appropriate groups and individuals having an interest and expertise in the field of public safety and law enforcement technology.

(f) The municipal police training committee periodically may include within its in-service training curriculum a course of instruction on public safety and law enforcement technology consistent with the provisions of subparagraphs one to six, inclusive, of subsection (b), and when law enforcement technology training centers are not being used by recruit classes they shall be available to in-service trainees and any other public safety officers.