The CPO course was created by the International Foundation of Protection Officers in 1988 to provide "current, useful, consolidated Security Training Manual that provides vital ‘need to know’ information for Protection Officers throughout the Security Industry."

The CPO training involves the Protection Officer Training Manual, which consists of 30 plus chapters, each dealing with a separate topic that is essential to the efficient functioning of a security officer. Each chapter is followed by summary questions. There is an open book, unsupervised midterm and a proctored final exam. If the final exam is completed within one year of the student’s enrollment within the course and they have obtained a score of 70% or greater then they have earned the title of Certified Protection Officer.  This course includes enrollment in the CPO course, an 8 hour course review as well as the proctor for the final exam.

Units of study include such topics as: •Public Relations •Investigations •Report Writing •Physical Security •Crime Scenes •Emergency Procedures •Safety Procedures •Workplace Violence •Environmental Crime Control Theory •Defensive Tactics & Officer Safety •Traffic & Crowd Control •Hazardous Materials •Effective Communications •Weapons of Mass Destruction •Apprehension and Detention Procedures •Fire Prevention •Strikes/Labor Relations •Crisis Intervention •Bomb Threats •Professionalism and Ethics •Police Security Liaison •Operational Risk Management •Foundations for Surveillance •Use Of Force •Legal Aspects