Sworn Officers with no Academy?

[BiteThePullet]

Hi Everyone~

In a recent thread [post #12, #15, etc.], it was mentioned several times that police officers can be working, with full powers of arrest, without having to attend an academy beforehand. My question is how it is possible for an officer to work without having the training you receive in the academy? Do they undergo an abridged training program? Work with a dedicated FTO like person?

Thanks in advance

[Iowa #1603]

Hi Everyone~

In a recent thread [post #12, #15, etc.], it was mentioned several times that police officers can be working, with full powers of arrest, without having to attend an academy beforehand. My question is how it is possible for an officer to work without having the training you receive in the academy? Do they undergo an abridged training program? Work with a dedicated FTO like person?

Thanks in advance

In Iowa , no

You are simply allowed to work for up to 18 months prior to attending an academy. The only thing the person can not do that any other officer can is invoke Implied Consent.

Most agencies have the person go through an FT program and then the are on their own. The larger agencies in the state don't allow this-------------but the vast majority of agencies do.

I was right at 12 months from hire to academy.

[BiteThePullet]

In Iowa , no

You are simply allowed to work for up to 18 months prior to attending an academy. The only thing the person can not do that any other officer can is invoke Implied Consent.

Most agencies have the person go through an FT program and then the are on their own. The larger agencies in the state don't allow this-------------but the vast majority of agencies do.

I was right at 12 months from hire to academy.

Ok - that makes sense. So, follow up, do you see this as detriment? Do you find officers in this situation less adept? Or, conversely, more adept because they learned practical applications (from an FTO), before the academy?

And what is Implied Consent, as it relates to LE?

[Iowa #1603]

Ok - that makes sense. So, follow up, do you see this as detriment? Do you find officers in this situation less adept? Or, conversely, more adept because they learned practical applications (from an FTO), before the academy?

It's the way it is..........

And what is Implied Consent, as it relates to LE?

It's part of the drunk driving arrest

[tanksoldier]

My question is how it is possible for an officer to work without having the training you receive in the academy?

In Colorado:

16-2.5-101. Peace officer – description – general authority
(1) A person who is included within the provisions of this article and who meets
all standards imposed by law on a peace officer is a peace officer, and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person other than a person
designated in this article is a peace officer. A peace officer may be certified by the
peace officers standards and training board pursuant to part 3 of article 31 of title
24, C.R.S., and, at a minimum, has the authority to enforce all laws of the state of
Colorado while acting within the scope of his or her authority and in the
performance of his or her duties, unless otherwise limited within this part 1.
(2) A peace officer certified by the peace officers standards and training board
shall have the authority to carry firearms at all times, concealed or otherwise,
subject to the written firearms policy created by the agency employing the peace
officer. All other peace officers shall have the authority to carry firearms, concealed
or otherwise, while engaged in the performance of their duties or as otherwise
authorized by the written policy of the agency employing the officer.
(3) As used in every statute, unless the context otherwise requires, "law
enforcement officer" means a peace officer.

16-2.5-102. Certified peace officer – POST certification
required.
The following peace officers shall meet all the standards imposed by law on a peace
officer and shall be certified by the peace officers standards and training board,
referred to in this article as the "POST board": A chief of police; a police officer; a
sheriff; an undersheriff; a deputy sheriff; a Colorado state patrol officer; a town
marshal; a deputy town marshal; a reserve police officer; a reserve deputy sheriff; a
reserve deputy town marshal; the director of the Colorado bureau of investigation; a
police officer or reserve police officer employed by a state institution of higher
education; a Colorado wildlife officer; a Colorado parks and recreation officer; a
Colorado police administrator or police officer employed by the Colorado mental
health institute at Pueblo; an attorney general criminal investigator; a community
parole officer; a public transit officer; a municipal court marshal; and the
department of corrections inspector general.

16-2.5-103. Sheriff – undersheriff – certified deputy sheriff –
noncertified deputy sheriff.
(1) A sheriff, an undersheriff, and a deputy sheriff are peace officers whose
authority shall include the enforcement of all laws of the state of Colorado. A sheriff
shall be certified by the POST board pursuant to section 30-10-501.6, C.R.S. An
undersheriff and a deputy sheriff shall be certified by the POST board.
(2) A noncertified deputy sheriff or detention officer is a peace officer employed by
a county or city and county whose authority is limited to the duties assigned by and
while working under the direction of the chief of police, sheriff, an official who has the
duties of a sheriff in a city and county, or chief executive of the employing law
enforcement agency.

Bold added by me. MOST agencies use non-certified deputies and officers in a detentions or corrections role.

For example, the Denver Sheriff's Department academy is not POST certifying, and all Denver deputies who ARE POST certified attended another academy elsewhere.

There are also dozens of "limited" peace officer roles (arson investigator, liquor enforcement investigator, etc) who MAY be certified by POST but don't have to be.

[BiteThePullet]

Alright, I understand. Thank you both for clarifying

[CruiserClass]

In Indiana you can work for up to a year with a 40 hour pre-basic. It primarily caters to small departments and/or primarily all-volunteer (reserves) departments although technically any department can make use of it.

[Country_Jim]

In California some specialized departments only required the forty hour laws of arrest course (832 PC). I have a buddy who is a lieutenant with the State Hospital Police, he is a full-time officer but his department only requires the 832 PC course (he has a full academy under his belt).

Stay safe.

[PhilipCal]

Alabama POST rules state a fully sworn and empowered officer can work for a period of nine months prior to required academy attendance. While this is true, many agencies, mine included, will NOT allow an officer to work unless/until he/she has attended and graduated from an academy and a full FTO program.

[CCCSD]

Huge liability.

[jcioccke]

Wait, What, Academy? I stayed at a Holiday INN

Seriously, 1 year in NY and you ride with an FTO the whole time. But mainly you direct traffic, fetch coffee and do the jobs (wash cars etc) until Academy.

[Che]

In NC they use to hire people on and the department had a year before they had to send them to the academy.

[SgtScott31]

TN Post Commission requires the officer to attend academy no later than six months after employment. With that said, I wouldn't put it past some tiny Sheriff depts to technically "let go" of the of the officer and re-hire to start the clock over again. That can bite them in the arse if the officer is involved in a lawsuit down the road.

[Iowa #1603]

I wouldn't put it past some tiny Sheriff depts to technically "let go" of the of the officer and re-hire to start the clock over again.

That is addressed in Iowa Code-------specifiably a big NO

Despite the 18 month ceiling there are ways to extend it another 6 months but the academy council refuses to do it except in rare circumstances (like military call ups). We had a guy get hired, ready to train and was called up within a week of hire. He was gone almost a year THEN it took another 8 months to get him into a class.