(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced the subject matter required for peace officer and trooper Continued Professional Training (CPT) reimbursement in 2016.
In April, Ohio Attorney General DeWine's Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training recommended that Ohio increase annual, advanced training for all peace officers and troopers in the state. The Ohio legislature then mandated that all officers take 11 hours of CPT in 2016, up from four hours in 2015, with the subjects of the training required for reimbursement to be determined by the Ohio Attorney General.
During the opening session of this year's Ohio Attorney General's Law Enforcement Conference today in Columbus, Attorney General DeWine announced that the majority of the subjects required for reimbursement will also mirror recommendations made by the Attorney General's Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training in their April report.
To meet the required 11 hours of CPT and to qualify for reimbursement for all 11 hours, peace officers and troopers must be trained on the following critical subjects next year:
- Community-Police Relations with a suggested focus on implicit bias, procedural justice, and Blue Courage (4 hours)
- Crisis De-Escalation with a required focus on mental illness (2 hours)
- Constitutional Use of Force (2 hours)
- Human Trafficking Update (1 hour)
All peace officers and troopers must also take two training hours related to any law enforcement topic.
"It is critically important that law enforcement officers continuously receive high-quality training throughout their careers, and I believe that additional training in these subjects will help even the most seasoned officers better serve their communities," said Attorney General DeWine. "By taking advanced training on these key topics, it is my hope that officers will develop stronger relationships with members of the public, and that citizens, no matter where they live in this state, will feel confident that their law enforcement officers have the skills necessary to fairly and effectively serve and protect."
The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA), which is a division of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, is currently developing new courses that law enforcement can take to satisfy the requirements for reimbursement.
The new courses, which will be available in January 2016, include an eight-hour webcast and simultaneous eight-hour live training that will fulfill the hours required for community-police relations, constitutional use of force, and crisis de-escalation with a focus on mental illness. The community-police relations portion of the course will cover the suggested focus topics of implicit bias, procedural justice, and Blue Courage, which is a national program developed by the U.S. Department of Justice designed to educate officers on the principles and practices of human effectiveness, purpose-driven work, resilience, positive attitude and sound judgement. Ohio will soon be the first state in the country to offer Blue Courage as advanced training and to also require it as part of basic training.
A new OPOTA course focusing on the latest strategies for investigating and identifying human trafficking is also currently in development, as are a number of new general law enforcement training courses.
To meet the 11 hour requirement and receive reimbursement, law enforcement may take courses offered by entities other than OPOTA, but any outside training must be approved by OPOTA.
Members of law enforcement with questions can email askopota@ohioattorneygenral.gov for more information.
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