Peace officers and troopers are required to complete 11 hours of Continuing Professional Training (CPT) this year, up from four hours last year, and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the requirements in October during the opening session of the Law Enforcement Conference.
In April, DeWine’s Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training recommended that the state increase annual advanced training, later, the Ohio Legislature mandated that all officers take 11 hours of CPT, with the subjects of the training required for reimbursement to be determined by the Attorney General’s Office.
“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,” DeWine said. “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.”
At the conference, DeWine announced that the majority of the subjects required for reimbursement will mirror recommendations made in the advisory group’s report.
Officers can take any training, approved by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC), on any general law enforcement subjects to meet the 11 hours required by law. However, in order to be reimbursed, officers must take training on the critical subjects of:
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Community-police relations with a suggested focus on implicit bias, procedural justice, and Blue Courage (4 hours)
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Crisis de-escalation with a required focus on mental illness (2 hours)
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Constitutional use of force (2 hours)
As an option to fulfill the reimbursement requirements, those topics will be combined in the new course “Policing in the 21
st Century,” a live 8-hour class being taught by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) in London, Richfield, and at select regional locations, according to Mary Davis, executive director. The course is to be streamed live online to those who sign up for the webcast.
The one-hour human trafficking update course, which is also required critical subject for reimbursement, will be available in a separate online course through eOPOTA.
The remaining two hours of required training may be about general law enforcement topics, for which OPOTA has added five new, one-hour eOPOTA courses to choose from to fulfill the requirement:
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“Disability Training for Emergency Planners: Serving People With Disabilities”
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“Dose of Reality for Law Enforcement Officers: Being a Safe and Critical Consumer of Prescription Drugs”
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“Procedural Justice & Police Legitimacy”
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“The Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) for Law Enforcement”
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“Companion Animal Encounters”
Members of law enforcement with questions should send an email to
AskOpota@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
To view the complete 2016 course catalog, visit
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/OPOTA.