Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Associated Press
DAYTON
Some police academy leaders are concerned that proposed statewide precertification standards for cadets could hurt enrollments.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine proposed new standards earlier this month. Applicants would have to pass drug, mental, fitness, and truth verification tests. The Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, which oversees the state’s law enforcement training, is expected to vote on the standards next month.
“There needs to be some uniformity in the state,” DeWine said. “If you’re a citizen in a village where the police department does not have those requirements, why should you be in a position where your police doesn’t have those requirements but your neighboring village or city does? These are things to protect police and to protect the public and to set minimum standards statewide.”
Some Dayton-area commanders at open-enrollment police academies told the Dayton Daily News on Sunday that precertification requirements should be implemented.
The Attorney General’s Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training made the recommendations. The group was tasked with looking at how the state trains law-enforcement officers and making suggestions for improvement.
But Paul Weber, commander at Clark State Community College in Springfield, says the standards would result in a duplication of tests and checks, since many police departments already screen candidates.
DeWine said he is comfortable with OPOTC working on the timing of the standards and looking at how to avoid duplicating required tests and screenings for candidates.
There are more than 60 peace officer basic training academies across the state.