Apple will launch an online portal for processing and tracking data requests from the police and build a team to train them how to use it, according to a company letter seen by Reuters.

The letter, dated September 4, was from Apple General Counsel Kate Adams to US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island.

Apple can and does provide some user data, such as data stored in its iCloud online service, to law enforcement officials if they make a valid legal request.

But Apple has sparred with US law enforcement officials because it encrypts its devices in such a way that Apple cannot access the devices if asked to do so.

The company said in its letter that it had responded to 14,000 US law enforcement requests last year, including 231 "domestic emergency requests," that it largely addressed within 20 minutes of receipt "regardless of the time of day or night."

Apple previously handled those requests via email, a company spokesman confirmed. By the end of this year, Apple will provide an online tool for law enforcement officials to make and track requests, according to its letter.

Apple said in the letter that it had trained nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers in how to obtain data from the company. 

The training previously happened in person at Apple's headquarters, but the company said it would create an online training course and a team of trainers to help extend its reach to smaller departments.

It said the training and portal would be available globally.

In Apple, there are guidelines about whether information should or should not offer to the police officers, as well as the transparency reports twice a year disclosing requests for information from the government and law enforcement agencies.

The company got a lot of problems following the 2016 San Bernardino shootings when Apple refused to build a backdoor into the iPhone to allow investigators access to information on the device.