International Association Of Directors
Of Law Enforcement Standards & Training

Preamble

The idea that those who perform the duties of law enforcement and criminal justice officers should do so with professionalism and a sense of ethics is not really new to western philosophical thinking. In fact, the origins of modern policing are commonly agreed to be found in the teachings of Sir Robert Peel over a century and a half ago. The formation of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1893 provided the first nationwide voice for reform and professionalization in policing. In this century, scholars generally agree that the most important early advocacy for professionalism can be found in the writing ant actions of Chief August Vollmer, who promoted the notion that the Berkeley Police Department should be composed of competent, trained, and ethical officers.

At the close of the era of prohibition, President Herbert Hoover empowered the Wickersham Commission to look into problems in American policing. This Commission concluded that law enforcement was far too often found to be corrupt, brutal, and composed of unethical and untrained personnel. These shocking conclusions were never manifested in significant public actions, however.

The next major report appears to have been published by the American Bar Association in 1953. In response to a recognition that policing in this country required improved professionalism, the ABA published a "Model Police Training Act." The Act outlined eight broad functions that should ideally be performed by police regulatory agencies.

In 1967 the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice published "The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society," and the follow-up task report, "The Police." Contained in both reports were recommendations pertaining to the American system of criminal justice. Major emphasis was focused on the police, and recommendations were offered to affect such areas as community policing, community relations, personnel practices and procedures, organization and operational policies and structures, and the recommendation that each state establish a Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission. At that time, 17 states had already established POST bodies. All states had them by 1981.

The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals published its recommendations for improvements in 1973. Specific recommendations for upgrading the quality of police personnel ranged from proposals for improving recruitment and selection to encouraging the imposition of extensive recruit basic and in-service training requirements that would be made mandatory for all police personnel.

California and New York were the first to establish POST commissions in 1959. New Jersey and Oregon created POST commissions shortly thereafter in 1961. The last states to create POST commissions were Tennessee, West Virginia, and Hawaii. The staffs of POST organizations first formed an association in 1969 upon the urging of IACP. In 1987, the name of this association was changed from NASDLET TO IADLEST thereby reflecting a more inclusive Mission and Focus.

No analysis of the development of professionalism in the criminal justice occupations would be complete without a reference to the positive impact of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration's
LEEP program. The Law Enforcement Education Program was the first significant infusion of federal funds designed to improve the education and management skills of police and criminal justice managers. A by-product of that great amount of funds was the establishment and creation of departments of criminal justice in practically every postsecondary institution in the nation. Thus was born the discipline of criminal justice and criminal justice studies that have done so much to advance the knowledge and practice of the
criminal justice professions.

To be sure, the public horror and reaction to police brutality and unlawful tactics in response to the general public disobedience of the 1960's led to demands that the quality of police improve. Likewise, a string of important Supreme Court cases recognized that the power of police must be regulated and misuses punished. The extension of the exclusionary rule to the states through Mapp v. Ohio (1961) was only the first of the contemporary major decisions to recognize the need to proscribe police unlawfulness. Mapp was followed shortly thereafter by Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Terry v. Ohio (1968), and Chimel v. California (1989) just mention some of the more well-known cases. This has been paralleled by the rapid rise of civil liability recourse (42 USC 1983, 1987) against police misconduct. A police officer of the 50's would be confounded by what a professional officer of the 90's considers commonplace.

The POST organizations were created out of the crucible of conflict, change, and the demand for professionalism and ethics in public officers. POST programs exist to assure all citizens that peace officers meet minimum standards of competency and ethical behavior. POST organizations also have an obligation to the officers and agencies that they regulate, to adopt programs that are sensible, effective, and consistent with contemporary notions of what standards should be for all officers.

It is in this spirit of growth and responsiveness that the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards & Training have resolved to establish a set of MODEL MINIMUM STANDARDS to which all states may aspire.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

Model Minimum State Standards For Post Administration

1.0 Concepts, Mission, and Organization

Each State shall have an organization at the state level with adequate authority to set standards for the hiring, training, ethical conduct and retention of police officers, through certification, licensing, or an equivalent methodology.

Commentary

Ever since 1967, when the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice issued its landmark report entitled "Task Force Report: The Police", it has been formally acknowledged that the law enforcement task is as great or greater than that of any other profession, and that the performance of this task requires more than physical prowess and common sense. Law enforcement officers engage in the difficult, important and complex business of helping to regulate human behavior, and their intellectual armament and ethical standards must be no less than their physical prowess. The Commission said in 1967, "the quality of police service will not significantly improve until higher educational requirements are established for its personnel" and that statement is equally true today.

As the Commission pointed out, while all departments are in need of upgraded recruiting efforts, higher minimum standards, better selection procedures and more training, the needs are more pronounced for the smaller police departments, many of whom without mandates at the state level would provide little or no training, use ineffectual selection and screening techniques, and have no organized recruiting programs, resulting in substantial variation in the quality of police service, not only in different areas of the nation, but within the same state.

Therefore, each state should have a commission, council or board on peace officer standards and training to establish, maintain, and update these standards.

1.0.1 Authority to Set Selection Standards

Such a commission should have the authority and responsibility to establish minimum statewide selection standards for all persons having authority to make arrests for violations of the criminal, motor vehicle, fish and game, boating and other laws of the state and for violations of local ordinances, and for all persons having custody of individuals who are incarcerated awaiting arraignment or trial, sentenced to terms in correctional institutions or released on probation or parole by the courts, and persons who hold other related public offices.

1.0.2 Authority to Set Education and Training Standards

Such a commission should have the authority and responsibility to establish minimum educational and training standards for pre-service, in-service and specialized training programs for law enforcement and corrections personnel, and persons who hold other related public offices; determine and approve the length and curricula for such programs; set minimum standards for instructors in such programs; and approve facilities as acceptable for law enforcement and corrections training.

1.0.3 Licensing or Certification

Such a commission should have the authority and responsibility to act as the certification or licensing authority for sworn personnel who perform the duties of law enforcement and corrections officers, and other related public officers, and determine the conditions they must meet for certification or licensing.

1.0.4 Decertification or License Revocation

Such a commission should have the authority and responsibility to decertify or suspend or revoke the licenses of sworn personnel who perform the duties of law enforcement and corrections officers, and other related public officers, for failure to observe training requirements, incompetence or egregious misconduct, and to determine the mechanics and conditions for such decertification.

1.0.5 Conducting Research

Such a commission should have the authority and responsibility to conduct and stimulate research by public and private agencies designed to improve the law enforcement and corrections services.

1.0.6 Compliance Enforcement

Such a commission should have the authority, responsibility and resources to make inspections to assure that its standards are being adhered to, and to sanction persons and agencies who willfully or negligently fail to comply with these standards.

1.0.7 Financial Assistance

Such a commission should have the authority, responsibility and resources to provide financial aid to government units as an incentive to send their officers to training programs.

1.0.8 Representation on the Commission

The majority of the representatives on such a commission should be representatives of local and county law enforcement and correctional agencies, with additional representation from state law enforcement and correctional agencies, the courts, and other appropriate agencies or professions.

Commentary

In some states, standards commissions are separate from training commissions, to avoid any claims of a conflict of interest if the standards setting agency also provides the training. However, in instances where such responsibility is split between two commissions, the participants sometimes indicate that communications and coordination are more difficult and there can be duplication of effort. In some states, the responsibility for corrections training is vested in a separate commission, or some agencies such as State Police or Sheriffs are either exempt from training standards or set their own. However, there are many similarities between police and corrections work at all levels which make it quite logical that the responsibilities for setting standards and delivering training can be vested in a single commission, with adequate resources and division of duties.

1.0.9 Independent Agency

Such a commission should be a separate state agency rather than a division or branch of another agency.

Commentary

Since a standards and training commission should serve the interests of state, local and county criminal justice agencies equally, it is preferable that it maintain its autonomy and avoid any appearance that its actions are dominated by another criminal justice agency. Since the agency should ideally be funded from a dedicated revenue source, maintaining it as a separate entity will remove the temptation to divert funds to the parent agency.

1.1 Commission, How Constituted and Operated

1.1.1 Terms of Commissioners

The members of the commission should be appointed for staggered terms which are not all coterminous with the term of the appointing authority. The statute should provide that certain members serve by virtue of their office.

Commentary

The commission, while under the control of the politically elected officials of the state, should be set up in such a way as to provide some continuity and expertise in office, so that it will not be used solely as a source of political patronage, and so that it will not be unduly susceptible to political coercion.

1.1.2 Executive Direction

The day-to-day operations of the commission should be under the control of an executive director or other executive head, who is appointed by a majority vote of the commission, and who can only be removed for cause and after a public hearing.

Commentary

The executive director should be a competent professional, chosen because of ability rather than politics, and whose selection should be removed from the partisan political process. He or she should have adequate tenure to develop and implement the goals and objectives of the commission and enforce compliance with commission mandates without fear of political reprisal.

1.1.3 Qualifications of Director

A state statute should set forth minimum qualifications for the executive director, which should include a baccalaureate or graduate degree, considerable experience in the field of law enforcement or corrections, and familiarity with the development and management of training programs.

1.1.4 Funding Source

The commission's operations, including subsidizing the costs of statewide training programs, should be paid out of a dedicated, nonlapsing revenue source independent of the state's general fund and protected within the state constitution, such as a penalty assessment fund or other funding source.

Commentary

A penalty assessment fund, based on a percentage of court fines, has proven to be a worthwhile and constitutionally permissible mechanism for the funding of criminal justice training programs because it involves no tax monies, and because those who contribute to it have a vested interest in being dealt with by competent professionals with high ethical standards and community relations skills.

Where such a fund exists or is enacted, it is important for it to be established as a trust fund within the state constitution, to prevent it from being diverted to other purposes whenever the state experiences a general fund revenue shortfall. It is also important to resist having a variety of other programs funded out of this dedicated revenue source, as the end result is usually that court fines reach the point of diminishing returns, and police and corrections training programs are either inadequately funded or require additional general fund support.

1.1.5 Meetings

State statutes should require the commission to meet at least quarterly, and it should be provided with an adequate budget to employ sufficient full-time staff to carry out its mandated duties, with sufficient equipment, travel, and staff development funds to enable its staff to keep abreast of progressive training methods, maintain appropriate professional certifications, belong to professional organizations and monitor the compliance of criminal justice agencies with its standards.

1.1.6 Subsidies

The state should provide the commission with sufficient funds to enable it to reimburse or subsidize every law enforcement and corrections agency 100 percent of the salary, or underwrite the cost of training programs to be completed by the employees of state, county and local law enforcement and corrections agencies.

1.1.7 Reciprocity

Through reciprocity, the commission should recognize the licensing or certification standards of other states which maintain and enforce equivalent standards, to encourage lateral entry by officers from another state without having to undergo redundant training, either at the academy level or in various specialties.

Commentary

Such reciprocity can be provided through standardized licensing and certification examination programs, supplemented by attendance at programs designed to acquaint officers who move in from another state or whose license or certification has lapsed during a break in service, with updated state laws, tactics and procedures.

1.1.8 Accreditation

The commission should recognize the value of a law enforcement accreditation process in upgrading the police profession, and provide technical assistance and support to departments seeking accreditation.

Commentary

Such support can be provided through commission involvement with state or area-wide PAC's (accreditation coalitions) which provide voluntary assistance to one another in their efforts to achieve national accreditation, or through the establishment of a statewide accreditation program through the commission or another appropriate entity, tailored to the needs of the individual state.

Model Minimum State Standards Peace Officer Selection

2.0 Selection

Each state commission should prescribe minimum statewide standards that must be complied with by hiring authorities who employ law enforcement and corrections officers and other related public officers. These standards should comply with any applicable federal and state equal employment guidelines and relate to the skills and attributes necessary to perform the essential functions of a police or corrections officer.

2.0.1 Drug Screening

State law or regulation should require each candidate for an entry level or lateral entry sworn position, to submit to testing to determine if he or she is currently using an illegal controlled dangerous substance.

Commentary

Peace officers are expected to enforce the law related to the use of controlled dangerous substances, and to prevent prisoners from acquiring such substances. The effectiveness of these officers would be compromised if they were also illegally using these drugs. Therefore, they should receive a valid test to screen for the illegal use of controlled dangerous substances consistent with federal and state laws. The type of test to be utilized would be selected by the agency consistent with their needs and costs, and consistent with minimum requirements set by the commission.

2.0.2 Background Investigation

State law or commission regulation should require each candidate for an entry-level or lateral entry law enforcement or corrections officer position or other related public office, to submit to a thorough background investigation according to protocols developed by the commission, to determine that they have exhibited mature judgment and are of good moral character and reputation.

Commentary

Those called to serve in the criminal justice system are faced with many difficult occupational situations. A documented background investigation is necessary to ensure that all candidates possess the necessary attributes to perform their duties. It is also necessary to screen out undesirable personal characteristics that may adversely affect their performance as officers. This background investigation should include at a minimum~ interview with previous employers and coworkers, neighbors, past and present family members, character references, school authorities, academic and military records, and a credit record check. Polygraph examinations can be an effective tool to help validate written and oral information, and to detect possible deception by a candidate. They should be used to support, but not as the sole indicator for, employment status decisions.

2.0.3 Fingerprint Check

State law or commission regulation should require the hiring authority to conduct a state and national criminal history check, including fingerprinting, and should prohibit the hiring of any person as a sworn police or corrections officer who has been convicted of a felony, or any other crime or series of crimes which would indicate to a reasonable person that the applicant was potentially dangerous, violent, or had a propensity to break the law.

Commentary

All persons who are expected to enforce the law should be free of a criminal background which would compromise their effectiveness. A criminal history check should be made through the National Crime Information Center and the appropriate local and state criminal history repositories in all communities where the applicant has lived or worked, confirmed by an applicant fingerprint card.

2.0.4 Age Requirements

Each state should set a minimum age requirement for employment as a police or corrections officer, or other related public office, verified by a birth certificate or other appropriate documentation.

Commentary

The minimum age requirement should be established to ensure that candidates will be legally able to perform their duties. This age requirement should be consistent with all federal and state laws, ordinances and regulations related to law enforcement activities, the possession of various types of evidence, and the use of firearms.

2.0.5 Oral Interviews

State law or commission regulation should require all candidates for police and corrections officer positions and other related public offices to be given a personal interview by representatives of the hiring authority to evaluate job-related behaviors, whether by an interview panel or another appropriate assessment process, and should provide guidance to the hiring authority as to any questions which should not be asked during such a process.

Commentary

Personal interviews are a valuable tool to verify and further expand on information provided by a candidate, in order to determine his or her fitness for the job, and to evaluate whether they possess adequate verbal and communications skills for the job.

2.0.6 Citizenship

State law or commission regulation should require all sworn police and corrections officers to be U.S. citizens. In order to encourage the cultural diversity which has enriched our nation over the years, foreign nationals who are becoming citizens should be encouraged to consider law enforcement careers if they can be employed by criminal justice agencies without exercising arrest powers until obtaining full citizenship.

Commentary

Police officers are expected to enforce the laws and constitution of the United States, and are among the few persons who can deprive a U.S. citizen of their freedom. This power should be vested in officers that are loyal citizens, committed to support the laws of the United States and of the state and locality of their employment. In addition, by being a citizen, an officer will be more familiar with the rights afforded to all citizens.

2.0.7 Driver's License

State law or commission regulation for police officers should require a driver history record that indicates that a candidate is a safe driver who has adequate respect for the traffic laws that they will be enforcing, and has a valid motor vehicle driver's license. A driver's license may not always be a requirement for correctional officers.

Commentary

All police officers will utilize motor vehicles in the performance of their duties at one time or another, and many will drive under emergency conditions. Their driving records should be screened prior to hiring, to determine that they are not poor or unsafe drivers.

2.0.8 Medical Qualifications

Once a conditional offer of employment has been issued, state law or commission regulation should require the hiring agency to provide a job-related pass/fail medical examination to each applicant for a sworn police or corrections officer position and mandate that they are medically fit to complete any necessary training and perform the duties of a police or corrections officer. The commission should provide for a medical review board to consider the cases of any applicant with a disability who feels that it will not prevent them from completing the training or performing the essential functions of the job without endangering others.

Commentary

Such an examination evaluates the candidate's physiological readiness to learn and determines the relative risk that their health will compromise their ability to perform the frequent and critical tasks assigned to them.

2.0.9 Education

State law or commission regulation should require immediately that all persons hired as police or corrections officers possess at a minimum a high school diploma, and should ultimately seek to phase in an entry-level requirement of a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a regional postsecondary accrediting body. Such college education should include a substantial core of courses in the humanities.

Commentary

Completion of high school insures that candidates will have obtained at least minimal skills in writing, comprehension and analysis required of an officer who must possess superior written and oral communications skills and an ability to read and interpret complex statutes, court decisions, and operational procedures. It will also be an indicator that the candidate can successfully complete a police or corrections academy or entrance-level training program. Although some states allow a G.E.D. in place of a high-school diploma, we are unaware of any other profession that permits entry at the G.E.D. level. As communities move toward community policing, a college education becomes increasingly desirable as an entrance standard.

2.0.10 Physical Fitness Assessment

A valid, job-related physical fitness or agility test based on data obtained from a written job description validated by a job task analysis, should be required on a pass/fail basis for each police and corrections officer candidate, by state law or commission regulation.

Commentary

Each candidate should be tested for physical conditioning, fitness and agility. The results of these tests should be evaluated against established, validated criteria, to determine their ability to complete any necessary training and perform the essential job functions, and reduce the danger to coworkers. Physical fitness or agility standards (muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, coordination, flexibility, strength, etc.) must also be validated as job-related to the occupational needs of police and corrections officers. Without validation, such standards may not survive legal challenge, especially if they deny employment to a protected class of people. A decision must be made as to whether candidates must meet certain standards before they can enter an academy, or whether they must achieve certain standards as a requirement for successful completion of the academy. Agility testing, if employed, must be done across the board for all candidates.

2.0.11 Psychological Screening

State law or commission regulation should require hiring authorities to administer a psychological screening to all applicants for sworn police or corrections officer positions, and not to hire applicants who suffer from a current mental illness that would affect their ability to function safely and effectively in the job, or display characteristics such as a tendency toward unnecessary violence or poor impulse control.

Commentary

A psychological assessment is necessary to screen out candidates who may not be able to carry out their responsibilities or endure the uniquely stressful working conditions, or who are not emotionally stable. Only qualified, licensed professionals should interpret these tests, using norm-referenced testing instruments to determine emotional and mental stability, recognizing that an appeal process or second opinion should be afforded to ensure fairness if a candidate is eliminated by this process.

2.1.0 Interstate Training Reciprocity

2.1.1 Reciprocity

Commissions should publish their requirements for reciprocity. They should be designed to notify other commissions as to reciprocity requirements for holding appointment as a police or corrections officer, and the training required or equivalency test needed for lateral entry. The published requirements should specifically address the areas enumerated below.

2.1.2 Prerequisites

Rules should state the prerequisites for holding the position requested by an applicant seeking employment in the state's criminal justice system, prerequisites for attending basic law enforcement training, and a description of the required minimum police or corrections recruit course, including hours of attendance.

2.1.3 Procedures

Rules should describe the procedure to obtain a waiver of basic training requirements, or state that a waiver is not allowed.

2.1.4 Matrix

The commission should develop a matrix to allow the staff to give a preliminary, non-binding opinion regarding the equivalency of training.

2.1.5 Documentation

Rules should prescribe the documentation and the certification of such documents from other educational institutions or training academies that are allowed as proof of completion of courses.

2.1.6 Decertification

Rules should prescribe the charging, hearings, and appeal process for decertification of an officer for infractions of laws, rules, or regulations, and the effect to be given to an out-of-state decertification action or conviction.

2.1.7 Licensing

The commission should publish a listing of any criminal justice position requiring a license or special license, a description of the licensing examination, and the name, address, telephone and FAX numbers of the licensing board or agency.

Model Minimum State Standards Recruit Basic Training

3.0.0 Basic Training

Commission regulations authorized by state law should establish minimum standards for the accreditation, administration, and delivery of basic training programs required for professional certification or licensing of entry-level police and corrections officers, regardless of whether such programs are delivered by state-run academies, individual law enforcement agencies, institutions of higher learning, or a combination thereof.

NOTE: Due to the difference in national and international police and corrections officer standards and training programs, the following standards may not be totally applicable to some training or educational plans. It is recognized that each commission must abide by its own state, provincial or national standards and regulations.

3.0.1 Purpose

The purpose of basic training should be to provide a supportive and nurturing environment that will encourage officers to be humanistic, compassionate, empathetic, culturally aware and career-oriented, skilled in the use of discretion, able to identify and solve problems in traditional and non-traditional but acceptable ways, and proficient in the use of weapons, the ethical and effective use of both deadly and non- deadly force, and respectful of constitutional limitations on their authority.

3.0.2 Core Competencies

Minimum curriculum requirements for basic training programs should identify a set of core competencies required for satisfactory performance of entry-level tasks. These competencies should include both knowledge and skills identified through job task analysis, and additional abilities in areas such as professional orientation, human relations and the ethical use of discretion that the commission deems consistent with the role of police and corrections officers in a free society.

3.0.3 Matriculation Requirements

Institutions, academies and agencies offering basic training courses should be encouraged to adopt entry standards for their programs that are designed to assure that graduates will meet as closely as possible the minimum professional standards adopted by the commission for occupational certification or licensing as a police or corrections officer.

3.0.4 Medical Examination

Students, as a condition of admission to basic programs, should be required to submit to a medical examination by a licensed physician familiar with the aspects of the curriculum that require physical strength, agility, flexibility and aerobic capacity and who, on a pass/fail basis, certifies that the prospective student can, in the physician's opinion, safely perform the course work required.

3.0.5 Transcripts

Students should be required to present transcripts of all prior education and training as a precondition of admission into a basic police or corrections training program.

3.0.6 Student Records

The items contained in standards 3.0.2 through 3.0.5 above should become a permanent part of the candidate's training records. This record should be available to the commission and on a need-to-know basis to the staff and management of the basic course provider. Medical records should be kept in separate files, or with restricted access. A student's files should be released only to the student's employing or sponsoring law enforcement or corrections agency, if any, or to commission officials, unless the student has given written permission for others to access them, or a valid court order exists. Student records are protected under federal law by the Buckley Amendment. Records should be retained for at least the record retention period required by state law, either in the form of hard copy, computer files, or other court-acceptable media.

3.0.7 Training Course Records

The commission should promulgate standards for the documentation of curriculum and the keeping of historical records for a period of at least twenty years for each basic training class, to include lesson plans, copies of audiovisual aids, tests and examinations, attendance records, student and instructor evaluations, course schedules, and instructor resumes.

3.0.8 Forms and Procedures

Commission administrative regulations should require that each institution have a policy that prescribes the forms and procedures for documenting the candidate's pre-employment or pre-basic requirements. Forms for each requirement should be developed and made available to agencies that will use the services of the training institution. When the candidate arrives for training at the institution, his or her training records should be inclusive and in a manageable format.

3.0.9 Basic Course Administration

Institutions and agencies providing basic training should be required by commission regulation to have a policy manual or course management guide which outlines the procedures to be followed in conducting the basic course. The policies should be directed toward the behavior of employees and staff as well as the students.

3.1.0 Scope

Written policies should describe the rules of the institution as they apply to the students, and each student upon entry should be issued a copy of the rules and acknowledge receipt of them in writing.

3.1.1 Orientation

The commission should require that each agency, institution or academy offering a basic course set aside a block of time at the beginning of the course for verbal orientation of the students and an explanation of the relevant institution rules and the matriculation requirements.

3.1.2 Rules

Written policies should describe the rules of the institution as they apply to the students, and each student upon entry should be issued a copy of the rules and acknowledge receipt of them in writing.

3.1.3 Discipline

The rules should describe the process for charging a student for a rules violation, the penalty for such a violation, and the appeal process.

3.1.4 Records

The rules should describe the records to be maintained for every student who receives any training and the method used to provide a validated transcript of such training. Records maintenance rules should be compatible with state and federal laws concerning student records.

3.1.5 Facility

The rules should prescribe facility requirements commensurate to the curricula to be taught by the institution. Curricula activities such as driver training, firearms training, practical exercises and any other training program mandating special needs should have access to adequate facilities. The facilities should be designed to provide the specific training needed to meet the course objectives.

3.1.6 Grading

Student grading policies should be established in terms of pass/fail, re-testing in regards to a failure (if permitted), appeal of test results, and necessary repeating of a subject area if a failure is substantiated or in case of excessive absence from class. Remedial or re-training should be applied in an equitable manner.

3.1.7 Attendance

Attendance at courses should be mandated. If a percentage of time is allowed for excused absences (for any reason), the percentage of time a student is allowed to be absent and still pass the course should be set by the commission.

3.1.8 Tests

Methods of developing test questions conforming to the performance objectives stated in the course should be explained to each student. The test development process should be stated in procedural format, outlining exactly how the testing program is administered.

3.1.9 Counseling

Training staff advisors and/or counselors should be available to discuss personal or training matters with the students. Remedial study habits should be suggested, along with advice to provide the student with every opportunity to do well in the courses.

3.2.0 Failure

Students failing a training course should be evaluated in terms of attitude, adaptability and retention. Should it be determined that the student can be successfully trained, remedial training should be provided under the guidelines established by the grading policy in 3.1.6 above.

3.2.1 Library

A satisfactory learning resource center should be provided if the student is assigned studies outside of the training handouts or classroom notebook. A library indexed by an acceptable decimal system should be available. The use of interactive video or computer programs is advisable.

3.2.2 Curriculum

The commission should establish minimum curriculum requirements for the basic course, and all institutions and agencies delivering approved basic training should be required to comply with these requirements. Curricula should be based on a valid and reliable job task analysis which is updated at least every five years. Training techniques should be generally accepted as correct and legal. Curricula should be submitted on a standardized form detailing the performance objectives for the course and the training methodology. The curricula should be certified by the commission's executive director upon recommendation of a curricula committee, including legal experts, whose members have examined the content and training methodology for the purpose of validating it. Instructors involved in the delivery of basic training should be credentialed as instructors by the commission.

3.2.3 Safety

Safety rules should be given to all trainees who enter the training facility. The rules, along with rules of conduct, should be discussed during orientation. A form attesting that the rules have been distributed and are understood should be signed by each student, collected by the instructor and filed. High-risk and high- liability curriculum areas should have safety rules posted in a conspicuous manner to remind the students of potential risks. Instructors should be periodically refreshed on the contents of these rules.

3.2.4 Graduation

Diplomas or notices of successful completion of basic courses should be awarded, and should identify the awarding institution, the name of the recipient, statutory mandate for the course (if any), precise name of the course, dates of attendance and graduation, and signature of the agency or institution head.

3.2.5 Insurance

Liability and comprehensive insurance should be provided in accordance with city, county or state laws or regulations. The chief legal counsel for the training agency should be consulted about indemnification.

3.2.6 Hiring

Employment of staff should be done through an established hiring process designed to insure that they possess adequate education, experience, ethical standards and medical condition for the position. The use of guest lecturers should be controlled in a manner that assures their integrity and qualifications to teach.

3.2.7 First Aid

First aid and medical emergency plans should be included in instructor and student orientation materials. If courses include high-risk activities, emergency medical plans should be discussed with students. Every instructor who teaches firearms, driving or other high-risk subjects should be currently certified in first-aid and CPR. First-aid kits and a means of summoning emergency medical assistance should be available at all training sites.

3.2.8 Equipment

Equipment requirements and standards should be established and provided to all agencies or persons participating in the training courses. Standards for weapons and ammunition used on the firing range should be established, as well as vehicles used on the driving range. Other equipment such as uniforms, leather gear, footwear, radar sets, batons, cameras or any other equipment used in training courses should conform to acceptable standards. The standards should be set by the commission or a group of persons having the ability to set such standards in a reliable and expert manner.

Model Minimum State Standards In-Service Training

4.0 In-Service Training

IADLEST endorses the concept of additional, commission mandated annual in-service law enforcement training for sworn or commissioned law enforcement officers following basic certification or licensure. We would recommend leaving the number of training hours and the selection and/or approval of subjects to the discretion of local law enforcement administrators, subject to the guidance and minimums set by the commission.

Commentary

As with many professions, and more so than most, law enforcement is an ever-changing occupation. Laws, court decisions, techniques, technology, and indeed the society that we regulate and serve, is in a constant state of flux. For this reason, it is necessary that police and corrections officers keep abreast of their field, so that they can more effectively serve the citizens, help the agencies that employ them avoid civil liability, and develop necessary supervisory and management skills. Unfortunately, in some jurisdictions the continuing education requirement for law enforcement is either non-existent or less than that of some less complex occupations such as barbers or real estate salespersons. This situation must be rectified in order for the criminal justice system to achieve optimal quality and excellence in service.

4.1.1 Statutory Authority; Purpose

Each state legislature should provide its commission with the statutory authority to mandate continuing education requirements for police and corrections officers as a condition of certification or licensure. The purpose of such training should be to ensure continued proficiency in necessary skills, become familiar with new developments and techniques, and achieve a revitalized sense of compassion, professionalism and career interest.

4.1.2 Resources

Each state legislature should provide adequate funding to its commission to assist in the development, presentation and monitoring of in-service training requirements.

4.1.3 Criteria

The criteria for needs assessment, curriculum development, instructor qualifications, research, testing, and student safety should be no less stringent than that which is prescribed for recruit training programs.

Model Minimum State Standards Training and Instructor Standards

5.0 Task Analysis

Each state commission should conduct a task analysis of the entry level law enforcement position at least once every five years.

Commentary

A task analysis should be conducted statewide to determine the essential functions of the entry level position and the relevant tasks and task steps.

5.0.1 Task Analysis Committee

Each state commission should utilize a committee to assist with the job task analysis (JTA).

Commentary

The committee should be made up of personnel in the criminal justice profession, and assist with the development of the curriculum using results of the JTA. This will assure that the curriculum reflects the actual needs of the basic police officer. The Advisory committee can also be a useful resource to add/modify curriculum during years that the JTA is being upgraded or revised.

5.0.2 Core Curriculum

Each state should develop a minimum standard basic police and corrections training curriculum based upon the results of the job task analysis, plus additional areas such as professional orientation, human relations, and the ethical use of discretion, that the commission deems consistent with the role of police and corrections officers in a free society.

Commentary

Curriculum should be based upon a job task analysis, to assure that the goals and objectives of the course are based upon the current requirements of the position. The job task analysis will identify the most important, most difficult and most frequent tasks required by the essential functions, and further identify those tasks that should be learned at the academy, as opposed to at some other time and place.

5.0.3 Unit Goals

The state standard basic training "core curriculum" should contain a unit goal for each unit of instruction, and performance objectives that are measured by demonstrated performance (written or practical) examinations.

5.0.4 Performance Objective

The curriculum should assign each performance objective a unique alphanumeric identifier.

Commentary

The use of numbered goals and objectives for each unit of instruction assures that the course offers the same curriculum every time it is taught. The alphanumeric identifiers allow the easy tracking and reporting of objectives. This is essential for reports to student or administrators upon completion of a course.

5.0.5 Field Training

Each state commission should establish a field training officers' program of on-the-job training that is also based upon a job task analysis.

Commentary

The basic curriculum and the field training program must both be based upon a task analysis, and complement one another. The field training program should cover the following areas: (1) Knowledge and skills that are unique to the employing agency, but not relevant to the state as a whole. (2) Knowledge and skills that have been determined through a task analysis to be essential to the job, but the local employing agency is better suited as the primary trainer. (3) Demonstrating proficiency in performance objectives that were not met during the academy training process. The final report to the employing administrator should contain the performance objectives that the officer did not achieve while in training at the academy. This report should become a part of the field training program as a remedial loop. The performance objectives should be demonstrated satisfactorily during the field training experience before the officer can be certified. Field training should be an integral part of the "core curriculum" and quantified as to time to be credited.

5.0.6 Written Tests

Each state commission should develop a bank of questions that measure the knowledge required by performance objectives evaluated by written examination.

5.0.7 Performance Demonstration

Each commission should develop a "demonstrated performance" check-off matrix for each performance objective evaluated by demonstrated performance.

Commentary

It is essential that the examination process measure knowledge and skills identified through job task analysis. To do this, questions and demonstrated scenarios should be developed to measure knowledge and skills relative to the course performance objectives. The questions missed or skills not demonstrated are reported to the student so that he or she not only knows the questions they missed, but also the performance objectives not achieved.

5.0.8 Final Examination

Each commission should develop a comprehensive final examination to determine how much knowledge was gained during the basic course, or a basic certification examination to determine that the student has the requisite knowledge to perform the essential job tasks at the entry level.

Commentary

Post-test measurement need not be conducted if careful examination of performance objectives was conducted during the course.

5.0.9 Follow-Up

Each commission should establish a comprehensive post- graduation follow-up survey.

Commentary

The post-graduation follow-up is essential, and ensures that the course and course content remain relevant. The survey should be designed to determine the retention of basic knowledge and skills. Adjustments should be make to course and delivery systems to increase retention and relevancy of the curriculum.

5.0.10 Instructor Training

Each commission should establish an instructor training program for instructors involved in the "basic core" curriculum.

Commentary

A comprehensive instructor training course is essential to a standardized "basic core" curriculum. Unless the instructional staff knows the purpose of performance objectives, how they are measured, and how to write proper test questions and demonstration scenarios, the influence of the goals and objectives on learning and retention will be diminished. Additionally, the instructor should be required to demonstrate the instructional processes he or she will use, before actual use in a teaching role. This requirement may be waived in the case of instructors whose prior education or experience is deemed to be the equivalent of such a course, such as professors or instructors at accredited postsecondary institutions.

5.0.11 Instructor Evaluation

Each state commission should develop an instructor evaluation process. It is important to the instructor to receive feedback on how well he or she does in the classroom. A comprehensive program will not only use the students to evaluate the instructor, but will also utilize feedback from managers, commissioned members, and other designated personnel.

5.0.12 Standardized Lesson Plan Format

Each state commission should develop a standardized format for lesson plans.

Commentary

The lesson plan should meet the standard and contain reference(s) to each performance objective covered during the unit of instruction. The lesson plan should be approved by the course coordinator before the instructor teaches. The lesson plan should be a permanent part of the course record. All multimedia and handouts used during the presentation should be identified on the lesson plan.

5.0.13 Instructor Certification Levels

Each state commission should establish certification levels for persons wishing to be instructors.

Commentary

Different levels of certification should be established for instructors, valid for a set period of time, after which renewal can be requested. A basic level instructor should be required to demonstrate the knowledge and ability to conduct instruction from prepared material. More advanced instructors should also be required to demonstrate the knowledge and ability to determine course objectives, develop lesson plans, coordinate other instructors and utilize results of task analyses. Top-level instructors should be required to demonstrate the ability to develop tests, supervise instructors and support staff, organize goal-setting, assist in developing a budget for training programs and maintain positive public relations. Appropriate instructor designations should recognize certain high-liability areas, such as firearms, defensive tactics, physical fitness, and emergency driving.

5.0.14 Revocation of Certification

Each state commission should have the authority to revoke the certification of instructors.

Commentary

To assure the quality of instruction, the state commission should be authorized to revoke instructor certification of those persons failing to follow commission guidelines or performance objectives.

5.0.15 Annual Instructor Evaluation

Each state commission should conduct evaluations of instructors on a routine basis, at least annually.

Commentary

Commission staff should annually evaluate each instructor conducting mandated training programs. The evaluation will be a useful tool to the instructor and the commission, and ensures that all performance objectives are presented by the instructor, and that high-quality teaching is provided to students.

5.0.16 Instruction and Curriculum Management

Curricula should be carefully documented, validated and updated, as follows:

5.0.17 Documentation

Curricula should have dates of original writing and dates at which time it was updated or revised. A tickler file should trigger automatic review and update consideration. A competent curriculum committee with the appropriate education and background should review and recommend all curriculum. Whenever the commission director is the sole curriculum approving authority, he or she should have the background, education and credentials necessary to make such judgments. The committee or commission director should have statutory authority to approve or deny curricula.

5.0.18 Validation

Validation procedures for curricula should be job task- related, contain performance objectives based upon identified training needs, and test construction should be valid and reliable in testing the performance objectives.

5.0.19 Design

Curriculum design should include full research of the topic(s) or curriculum, source documents written from research, lesson plan(s) developed from the source document, and the source documents and lesson plan should be kept on file for reference.

5.0.20 Handouts

Handout materials or any reference materials should be serialized, and corresponding numbers placed on lesson plans and curricula to which the handout is related.

5.0.21 Staff Instructors

Staff instructors should be graduates of a recognized college or university with a degree in the appropriate field, or have at least a high school education with a documented background and experience to equate in ratio to years of college or university study.

5.0.22 Background

Instructors should successfully pass a background investigation documenting good moral character and integrity.

5.0.23 Physical Fitness

Instructors should be physically fit and in acceptable health to perform the essential functions of their jobs.

5.0.24 Communications

Instructors should have the ability to communicate with students in a supportive manner and yet be able to render objective judgments in reference to student efforts.

5.0.25 Motivation

Instructors should be able to instruct in a manner that motivates students to learn.

5.0.26 Research Skills

Instructors should be able to research and write training materials such as source documents, lesson plans, and tests.

5.0.27 Testing

Testing, whether pre-test or post-test, should be valid and reliable. If pre-testing is used, it should be done with a specific purpose in mind and result in the ability to measure the instructional results accurately. Otherwise, it will not provide a useable result, but will instead mislead and cause confusion.

5.0.28 Technology

Contemporary information with regard to the use and development of instructional technology should be researched in order to maximize training techniques. The goal should be to correctly apply training technology to enhance the ability of students to learn, and not solely to expedite the training process.

5.0.29 Skills Training

Critical skills areas (vehicle stops, use of deadly force, evidence collection and preservation, etc.) should be tested through the use of graded practical exercises. An acceptable pass/fail criteria should be established for each skills test.

5.0.30 Strategies

Instructional strategies should be utilized when it is determined that a particular strategy is the best technique that could be used to teach a particular attitude, knowledge, or skill.

Model Minimum State Standards Professional Conduct

6.0 Standards of Professional Conduct

Each state should provide its commission with the authority to issue standards for professional conduct of law enforcement and corrections officers which specify occupational professionalism by which the certification or license may be retained by persons holding it, and should be empowered to enforce minimum professional standards through the administrative denial of certification to unqualified applicants, and administrative sanction of officers violating professional standards.

Commentary

Each state has been empowered through its constitution or by legislative authority, to regulate occupations and professions in the public interest, thereby protecting the public health, safety and welfare in the performance of such occupations and professions. A state generally administers this authority through the certification or licensing of persons who have met specific minimum standards. The authority of a state to grant certification or licensure to persons performing an occupation or profession, also implies that the state may refuse to license, or revoke state certification or licensure. In the case of law enforcement and corrections, these duties should be delegated by the legislature to the appropriate commission or commissions.

6.0.1 Content

Standards of professional conduct should address the commission's authority to provide licensing or certification retention standards, and authority to revoke or decertify law enforcement and corrections officers. This authority and responsibility should parallel minimum standards of certification and training, and include cause for administrative sanction, due process notice, hearing and appeal requirements, and provisions for releasing information to a national data bank of decertified officers, as well as a recertification process.

6.0.2 Certification

Each commission should establish procedures and regulate, monitor and certify that persons employed as law enforcement and corrections officers have met the minimum standards for employment, training, and retention.

Commentary

These standards should offer public notice regarding the high ethical, character, training and competency standards required by the state for the employment of law enforcement and corrections officers.

6.0.3 Uniformity

A set of uniform certification or licensing standards should apply to all officer applicants in the state.

6.0.4 Compliance

Prior to issuance of certification or licensure, the commission should verify the compliance of the applicant with minimum standards, by collecting, verifying and maintaining all documentation establishing compliance, and assuring that a proper background investigation and criminal history check have been completed, and requiring the training institution or hiring authority to provide assurance of completion of all pre-hiring requirements, subject to verification by commission audit.

6.0.5 Ongoing Compliance

The commission should be authorized to monitor and enforce ongoing compliance with criteria for the retention of certified or licensed law enforcement or corrections officers.

Commentary

In order to provide a means to identify officers in possession of commission certificates or licenses who involve themselves in unethical or unlawful conduct which would be considered outrageous, contemptible, inhumane, cruel, immoral, indecent, improper, flagrant, excessive, notorious, wanton, intolerable or shocking to the conscience, each state should maintain a professional certification or licensing compliance system. The creation of such a system will assist in preserving minimum standards of conduct and public trust in persons holding commission certification or licensure. It will also provide means for notice to future law enforcement or corrections employers of those applicants who have violated professional standards and have been sanctioned by the commission.

6.0.6 Application, Certification and Denial

Each commission should require a formal application for certification, with specified criteria. If minimum standards are met, the applicant should be certified. If the applicant does not appear to meet minimum standards, the commission should formally notify the applicant of its intention to reject the application and allow a hearing, pursuant to the state administrative procedure act or other applicable law, if the applicant files a timely request for such a hearing.

6.0.7 Reporting Misconduct

Commission regulations should mandate that employing agencies notify the commission when an officer leaves employment, whether terminated, laid off, resigned, or retired. The facts and circumstances leading to the separation should be required to be disclosed where officer misconduct would give rise to possible sanction by the commission. Instances of such misconduct substantiated by an officer's employing agency should also be disclosed to the commission. All law enforcement agencies in the state should be required to report to the commission, the arrest of any person known or identified to them as a police or corrections officer.

Commentary

Public respect for the law is linked to public respect for those who enforce it. When the public becomes aware of unethical, illegal or unconstitutional conduct, on- or off-duty, by those who are sworn to uphold the law and preserve the peace, public confidence is shaken and all criminal justice professionals and agencies suffer diminished effectiveness through diminished public respect, cooperation, and confidence.

6.0.8 Investigation of Misconduct

The commission should evaluate, and may inquire into, all allegations reported to them of officers violating commission standards. The commission should cooperate with employing agencies in this regard. If the information obtained by inquiry indicates that an officer is in violation of commission standards which could result in the imposition of sanctions, the matter should be presented to the commission or executive director for determination. If the investigation results in a conclusion that no cause for action exists, the employing agency and officer should be so notified. If cause is found, the commission should issue a formal administrative complaint, specifying the charges upon which the sanctions may be imposed.

6.0.9 Grounds for Action

A set of uniform professional standards applicable to all officers certified or licensed by the commission should be established and published. The commission should have the authority to sanction misconduct including any act or conduct which raises substantial doubts about the officer's honesty, fairness, or respect for the rights of others, regardless of whether the misconduct constitutes or is prosecuted as a crime, including but not limited to a plea of guilty, nolo contendere or a finding of guilt as to one or more of a specified series of misdemeanor charges, regardless of withheld adjudication or suspended sentence; a plea of guilty, nolo contendere or a finding of guilt as to a felony or similar offense, regardless of withheld adjudication or suspended sentence; unlawful sale, possession or use of a controlled dangerous substance, or failure to meet mandatory commission standards. State law should permit the commission to consider the existence of an annulled record in making certification and decertification decisions.

6.1.0 Possible Sanctions

Depending on the type of violation, the facts and circumstances of the case, and the prior record of the officer, the commission should impose the most appropriate administrative sanction, to include suspension or revocation of the license or certificate, probation, which may include remedial retraining, or formal reprimand or censure.

6.1.1 Sanction Procedure

In accordance with the state administrative procedure act or other applicable law, the officer should be given notice of the proposed administrative sanction and be provided an opportunity to be heard in the administrative hearing upon request, and to be represented by counsel at his or her own expense. If the hearing results in a finding that the standard of professional conduct was not violated or a conclusion that the conduct in question does not warrant administrative sanction, the case should be dismissed. In the event a violation of professional standards is found, the commission should impose sanctions as appropriate.

6.1.2 National Repository

It is recommended that, upon the establishment of a national repository of information regarding decertified officers, each state commission contribute toward this repository.

Commentary

Each state's society is highly mobile. The number of law enforcement and corrections officers certified or licensed who have been sanctioned by state commissions, continues to expand. There are many accounts of officers with histories of violating professional standards attempting to or becoming employed in the criminal justice professions in states outside the jurisdictions where the violations occurred. To protect criminal justice agencies from employing a person who has been decertified in another state, each state should have the authority to release information on decertified officers upon an official request, and within authorized release guidelines.

6.1.3 Dissemination

Each state should have an authorized state agency that can establish policy and procedures for the dissemination of information to a national repository regarding officers whose commission certificate or license has been suspended, revoked or decertified for punitive reasons. Information to be released should include the name, date of birth and social security number of the officer, the name and address of the commission, and the name and telephone number of a contact person at the state commission who can answer inquiries into the nature of the sustained grounds for decertification.

6.1.4 Recertification

Each commission should adopt a process whereby law enforcement and corrections officers whose commission certificates or licenses have lapsed or been suspended, revoked or decertified, may apply to have them restored, reinstated or re-issued. Officers should first be required to demonstrate compliance with minimum state certification or licensing standards before recertification will be considered. Application to the commission as provided in the initial certification or licensing process should be made. Any denial of certification should be in writing, listing the reasons therefor, and describing any appeals process.