Policy

Policy 1. The Board shall certify as law enforcement professionals those persons who meet the employment guidelines established in accordance with Mississippi Code as Annotated § 45- 6-11 (3). Additionally, the Board shall certify certain eligible law enforcement officers as being exempt from the requirements. A. Certification under the Law Enforcement Officers Training Program (LEOTP) is limited by law to law enforcement officers only. A law enforcement officer is defined in the statute (§ 45-6-3 (c) and (d)) as any person who is: 1. Appointed or employed full-time, part-time, reserve, or auxiliary by the state or any political subdivision thereof, 2. Duly sworn, 3. Vested with the authority to bear arms, and to make arrests, 4. And assigned, as their primary responsibility, duties which are the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of criminal and traffic laws of the state and/or of a political subdivision of the state. B. § 45-6-11 (1) provides an exclusion or “grand-father clause” for eligible law enforcement officers. 1. Law enforcement officers already serving under permanent appointment on July 1, 1981, and personnel of the division of community services under § 47-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, serving on July 1, 1994 are not required to meet any of the provisions of the LEOTP. This is the sole qualifying factor for any exemption under the “grand-father clause” of the LEOTP Act. The Act does not provide for any exemption based on prior years of service. 2. This exclusion from the requirements of the LEOTP is valid so long as the eligible officer does not have a break in law enforcement employment of more than two years. If an officer who is grand-fathered under the LEOTP leaves employment as a law enforcement officer and is not re-employed as a law enforcement officer within two years, the officer will be required to meet all the requirements as described in the Act. C. All law enforcement applicants with the noted exception in paragraph (b) above must meet the following guidelines to be employed as a law enforcement officer: 1. “Be at least 21 years of age upon graduation from a training academy.” 2. Be a high school graduate or obtain a General Educational Development (GED) Diploma, a. High School graduate is defined as graduating from a secondary school in an accredited school district having earned the required Carnegie units and successfully completed any and all subject area testing as specified by the Mississippi Department of Education in the year the diploma was awarded. b. Accredited schools include those accredited by the Departments of Education from each State, the Independent/ Private School Association from each State, the Association of Christian Schools International, the National Council for Private School Accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or one of the six regional bodies of the Association of Colleges and Schools, and AdvancED. c. In lieu of a high school diploma, a college diploma from an accredited institution will be accepted. It must be an Associate’s (AA or AAS) or higher. Technical Certificates will not be accepted. Accredited schools include those accredited by an Accrediting Agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. d. If an applicant has not obtained a high school diploma from an accredited school, the applicant must obtain a GED through the Mississippi Department of Education or obtain an equivalent score on a GED test administered by the American Council on Education. e. Applicants may provide a composite test score on the ACT of 15 or higher in lieu of a GED score. ACT scores can only be accepted if the score is on an official form (student or institution copy) or as part of an official school transcript. 3. Be a United States citizen, 4. Be of good physical and mental condition, capable of performing the duties, under conditions inherent to the profession, as verified by a licensed physician, 5. And be of good moral character as evidenced among other things by having neither a conviction, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, having been ordered into probation or pre-trial diversion or have been fined in relation to a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or to a crime that is directly related to the duties and responsibilities of a law enforcement officer; and not have been engaged in any conduct or action that would greatly diminish the public trust in the competence and reliability of a law enforcement officer. Former members of the Armed Forces Individuals must have been discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions. Fitness for service as it relates to moral character must be verified by an appropriate background investigation. D. Individuals who meet both the definition for a law enforcement officer in paragraph (C) above and who meet the minimum employment guidelines are eligible to be employed as a law enforcement officer. 1. Such officers must successfully complete prescribed training and obtain certification within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status from their date of hire. Note: Although the statute provides up to one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status from the date of hire and under certain limited conditions individuals may lawfully serve beyond this period, agencies should adopt policies to provide training as soon as possible, preferably prior to the assignment of any law enforcement duties. Law enforcement administrators are responsible for providing adequate and appropriate training to reduce the potential risks of conduct which could result in a violation of someone's civil rights, injury or death. Failure to do so has been construed by the courts as being deliberately indifferent. 2. The probationary period begins upon the initial date of hire as a law enforcement officer. Individuals who begin employment with an agency in a non-law enforcement position such as a jailer must report the effective date of their transfer to a law enforcement position as their initial date of hire. 3. The probationary period is cumulative in nature and cannot be enlarged by additional or multiple employments. If an officer transfers from one department to another department prior to obtaining certification, the total time served will count toward the probationary period. For example, if a part-time officer began employment and quits after three months, the officer would have twenty-one months remaining upon subsequent employment. The full probationary period may only be reinstated upon a break in service of two years or more. E. The LEOTP makes no provision to waive, enlarge or extend the probationary period nor does the Act authorize the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training to waive, enlarge or extend the period. However the Act does provide that any person, who, due to illness or other events beyond his/her control, could not attend the required school/training as scheduled, may serve with full pay and benefits in such a capacity until he/she can attend the required school/training. 1. To qualify as being eligible to continue receiving pay beyond the probationary period, individuals generally must have met all selection criteria upon employment and in particular must have been able to meet the physical fitness guidelines as determined by a licensed physician. Any individual employed as a law enforcement officer with a pre-existing medical or other condition that would preclude his/her participation in the law enforcement training program does not meet the entry level standards and is not eligible for law enforcement service. 2. Applicants must have been scheduled to attend a specific basic course by name and accepted for enrollment in a course which would have satisfied the probationary period requirement. Once it is determined that an officer cannot complete the course as scheduled, the hiring agency must provide written documentation that fully describes the event which prevents the student from successfully completing the course. The written documentation must include adequate documentation that the event was indeed beyond the student's control. A student's dismissal from the training program due to misconduct or failure to meet the academic/training standards would not constitute an event beyond that student's control. Illnesses, injuries or other events which could be reasonably avoided would not excuse a student's failure to achieve the training standards. Events, which are precipitated by a student's negligence, misconduct or illegal activity, will not be considered as “beyond the student's control”. For example, a vehicular accident in which the student operator was found to be operating the vehicle in a willfully reckless fashion or under the influence of intoxicating substances would not be beyond that student's control as such events can be readily avoided. 3. Any such event which prevents a student from completing the course as scheduled must be temporary in nature. Applicants must have reasonable potential to recover from the illness, injury or other event and make a reasonable effort to successfully complete the training course. In any case, applicants must complete the training within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status from the date of their illness or injury or be reevaluated as to their ability to meet the physical fitness employment guidelines. Such evaluations will be conducted in accordance with the Board's policy on recall or cancellation of certificates. In addition to those procedures, applicants must submit a Board-approved medical examination dated within six months of the review hearing. 4. Events precipitated by natural disaster, civil disturbance, war or acts of God which would reasonably interfere with the normal conduct of law enforcement activities within a political subdivision or disrupt the law enforcement training programs of the state would enable an applicant to continue to serve and receive salary as a law enforcement officer. 5. Agencies must make every reasonable effort to provide training to their officers and adopt policies which ensure that their officers complete the prescribed training requirements within the probationary period. Agencies which fail to provide adequate funding or other appropriate resources to ensure compliance with the LEOTP will not be eligible to continue the service of officers who have not completed the training requirements within the probationary period. 6. Should the State fail to provide adequate resources or funding to enable each officer to complete the required law enforcement training within the time limit, agencies may continue to employ such officers until they have the opportunity to complete the next available training program. 7. The Board staff shall review the facts and circumstances for each instance where an applicant's department requests to continue service beyond the probationary period. The staff shall determine whether the applicant was eligible to be employed as a law enforcement officer, whether the applicant was scheduled to attend a basic course within the probationary period, whether the injury, illness or other event was beyond the control of the applicant and whether the situation will be temporary or permanent in nature. F. The LEOTP makes provision to penalize agencies who employ officers without obtaining certification beyond the probationary period. These penalties include a loss of peace officer powers and authorization to receive a salary. To avoid these penalties, agencies should consider all contingencies in the planning of the evaluation, employment and training of their personnel.