Policy

Policy 1. 1. The Board shall evaluate each applicant's documented record of experience, education, and training. The accomplishments in each area shall be weighed to compare the applicant's credentials with the current standards for professional certification. A. The certification status of any law enforcement officer shall lapse after a break in service of more than two (2) years. Time of Service will be determined by official Board records (applications, rosters). 1. Officers, certified in this state, who have had basic as in Chapter 9, Rule 9.2, Subsection-C and meet the employment guidelines, with a break in service of more than two (2) years, are required to complete the hands-on skill tests and law courses of the refresher course and provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification to restore their certification. The skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course must be completed within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status of their date of hire. The skill tests must be conducted at a Board accredited academy. Academies must review the Board’s notice that the student is eligible for the skill tests. 2.Officers, certified in this state, who have had basic as in Chapter 9, Rule 9.2, Subsection-C and meet the employment guidelines with a break in service of five (5) years or more are required to complete the refresher course and provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification to restore their certification. The refresher course must be conducted at a Board accredited academy within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status of their date of hire. Academies must review the Board’s notice that the student is eligible for the refresher course. B. All transfer applicants from another state, military, or federal jurisdiction that meet the employment guidelines applying for certification under Equivalency of Training must have completed training as defined in Chapter-9, Rule 9.2, Subsection-B. 1. The Board shall issue certification to applicants who establish residence within fifty (50) miles of the borders of this state if the following conditions are satisfied: a. The applicant holds a current and valid law enforcement license in good standing in another state, and has held this license from the occupational licensing board in the other state for at least one (1) year; and b. There were minimum education requirements and, if applicable, work experience, examination and clinical supervision requirements in effect, and the other state verifies that the applicant met those requirements in order to be licensed in that state; and c. The applicant has not committed any act in the other state that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in Mississippi at the time the act was committed, and the applicant does not have a disqualifying criminal record as determined by the BLEOST in Mississippi under Mississippi law; and d. The applicant did not surrender a license because of negligence or intentional misconduct related to the applicant’s work in the occupation in another state; and e. The applicant does not have a complaint, allegation or investigation pending before an occupational licensing board or other board in another state that relates to unprofessional conduct or an alleged crime. If the applicant has a complaint, allegation or investigation pending, the occupational licensing board in Mississippi shall not issue or deny a license to the applicant until the complaint, allegation or investigation is resolved, or the applicant otherwise satisfies the criteria for licensure in Mississippi to the satisfaction of the BLEOST in Mississippi; and f. The applicant pays all applicable fees in Mississippi; and g. The applicant passes a jurisprudential examination specific to relevant state laws and administrative rules in Mississippi administered by the Board. h. The applicant completes the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course at a Board accredited academy and provides verification of First Aid/CPR certification. 2. The Board shall issue certification to applicants who establish residence within fifty (50) miles of the borders this state based on work experience in another state, if all the following apply: a. The applicant worked in a state that does not issue law enforcement license/certification to regulate the occupation; and b. The applicant worked for at least three (3) years in law enforcement as determined by the BLEOST; and c. The applicant satisfies the provisions of paragraphs (c) through (f) of subsection B (1) of this section; and d. The applicant passes a jurisprudential examination specific to relevant state laws, administrative rules, and skills in Mississippi administered by the Board. e. The applicant completes the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course at a Board accredited academy and provides verification of First Aid/CPR certification. 3. The Board shall issue certification to an applicant who is a member of the military, or an applicant who is married to or is a dependent of a member of the military, if, upon application to the Board, the applicant satisfies the following conditions: a. The applicant has been awarded a military occupational specialty, completed a military program of training, completed testing or equivalent training and experience, and performed in the occupational specialty; or b. The applicant holds a current and valid law enforcement license in good standing in another state, and has held this license from the occupational licensing board in the other state for at least one (1) year; and c. The applicant has not committed any act in the other state that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in Mississippi at the time the act was committed, the occupational licensing board in the other state holds the applicant in good standing, and the applicant does not have a disqualifying criminal record as determined by the BLEOST in Mississippi under Mississippi law; and d. The applicant did not surrender a license because of negligence or intentional misconduct related to the applicant’s work in the occupation in another state; and e. The applicant does not have a complaint, allegation or investigation pending before an occupational licensing board or other board in another state that relates to unprofessional conduct or an alleged crime. If the applicant has a complaint, allegation or investigation pending, the occupational licensing board in Mississippi shall not issue or deny a license to the applicant until the complaint, allegation or investigation is resolved, or the applicant otherwise satisfies the criteria for licensure in Mississippi to the satisfaction of the occupational licensing board in Mississippi; and f. The applicant pays all applicable fees in Mississippi; and g. The applicant passes a jurisprudential examination specific to relevant state laws, administrative rules, and skills in Mississippi administered by the Board; and h. The applicant completes the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course at a Board accredited academy and provides verification of First Aid/CPR certification. 4. The Board shall issue a license to an applicant who is a member of the military, or an applicant who is married to or is a dependent of a member of the military, upon application based on work experience in another state, if all the following apply: a. The applicant worked in a state that does not issue law enforcement license/certification to regulate the occupation; and b. The applicant worked for at least three (3) years in the lawful occupation; and c. The applicant satisfies the provisions of paragraphs (c) through (f) of subsection B (3) of this section; and d. The applicant passes a jurisprudential examination specific to relevant state laws, administrative rules, and skills in Mississippi administered by the Board; and e. The applicant completes the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course at a Board accredited academy and provides verification of First Aid/CPR certification. 5. The passing score for the jurisprudential examination is 70%. This examination must be successfully completed within 120 days of the date of the application. For applicants not successfully completing the test or applicants that did not take the test within 120 days of the date of the application, the applicant must complete the refresher course. Applications are due within thirty (30) days of the date of hire. Applicants required to complete the refresher course must provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification to receive certification. The refresher course must be conducted at a Board accredited academy within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status of their date of hire. 6. Upon application, applicants must present an acceptable form of identification to verify Mississippi residency, if residency in this state is required. Applicants must provide verified documentation to satisfy the conditions of this section. C. Officers must have successfully completed an acceptable basic law enforcement training course to be eligible for certification based on equivalency of training. Officers who have not met this requirement must complete the basic course to obtain certification. 1. An acceptable basic law enforcement training course shall be defined as: a. One that meets an approved state standard for mandated training which leads to certification as a law enforcement officer. In addition to having completed a state approved basic course, officers whose total basic course hours are below the hours of the Mississippi curriculum, must also have completed on the job training consisting of at least six months of full-time law enforcement experience in the same jurisdiction wherein the training was completed; b. A basic course, equivalent to the Mississippi curriculum, sponsored by a federal agency for its law enforcement officer; 2. In situations where the course predated state statutory requirements for law enforcement training or the course was administered by a federal jurisdiction, the course curriculum will be compared to the Mississippi curriculum. Basic law enforcement training courses which were conducted by the former Mississippi Game and Fish Commission or the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics prior to the enactment of the Law Enforcement Officer Training Program shall be acceptable for purposes of granting equivalency. 3. The Board staff will review the actual basic course completed. Courses will be compared to the curriculum offered during the same period in this state. In addition to the courses listed, the staff will review the standards for successful graduation, the duration of the course and the training delivery method. The course must equal or exceed our existing standards to be considered an acceptable course. 4. Acceptable courses include written and hands-on examinations. Candidates must have passed all course requirements or achieved a minimum score of seventy percent (70%), whichever is higher. D. Any officer, certified in this state, whose break in service was due to service in a closely related criminal justice position may restore their certification without further training by returning to law enforcement service before a two (2) year break. With a break of two (2) years or more, the officer may restore their certification by completing the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course. Once an officer has been deemed eligible for the skill tests and law courses, the department head will be notified by the Board. 1. Applicants must have: completed the basic course as in Chapter-9, Rule 9.2, Subsection-C above, met the current employment guidelines and completed each of the hands-on skill tests and law courses and provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status of their date of hire. The skill tests must be conducted by a certified instructor or at a Board accredited academy. The law courses must be conducted at a Board accredited academy. Academies and instructors must review the Board’s notice that the student is eligible for the skill tests and law courses. The skill tests are: a. Firearms, b. Defensive Driving and c. Mechanics of Arrest 2. Applicants must have served in a full-time capacity in one of the following positions (or other position as approved by the Board): a. As an instructor in a Board-approved academy, instructor, or student in criminal justice (or related subject area) at an institution of higher learning, or b. As an investigator for a district attorney, or investigator for a state level agency responsible for enforcing criminal statutes, or 3. Applicants must have served in a part-time law enforcement position in this state. E. Any officer, certified in this state, whose break in service was due to serving as a law enforcement officer in another state or federal jurisdiction may restore their certification without further training by returning to law enforcement service before a two (2) year break. With a break of two (2) years or more, the officer may restore their certification by completing the hands-on skill tests and law courses portions of the refresher course and provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification within one year for full-time status and two years for part-time status of their date of hire. The skill tests must be conducted at a Board accredited academy. The law courses must be conducted at a Board accredited academy. Academies and instructors must review the Board’s notice that the student is eligible for the skill tests and law courses. 1. Applicants must have completed the basic course as in Chapter-9, Rule 9.2, Subsection-C above and met the current employment guidelines. 2. Applicants must have served in a full-time capacity as a law enforcement officer in one of the following positions (or other position as approved by the Board): a. A municipal police officer, county deputy sheriff or other law enforcement officer appointed or employed full-time in a recognized political subdivision of any state, province or territory of the United States of America who is vested with the authority to bear arms, make arrests, and has as their primary duty the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of criminal and traffic laws of the political subdivision. b. Any person currently or formerly classified under the GS-1811 series or any uniformed federal law enforcement officer who is: appointed or employed full- time by the United States Department of Justice or its law enforcement subdivisions, the Department of Defense or its recognized military service branches, the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Treasury or its law enforcement subdivisions, or the District of Columbia; and/or who is vested with the authority to bear arms, make arrests, and has as their primary duty the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals, and the enforcement of criminal and traffic laws of the United States of America. F. The Board shall establish the acceptable curriculum and training delivery methods for the refresher course. 1. Any Board accredited training academy may present the refresher course curriculum. With prior Board approval, academies may tailor the curriculum delivery to that method best suited for their service area. Training standards shall also include certified instructors, record keeping and testing. Academies must review the Board’s notice that the student is eligible for the refresher course. 2. Should agencies decide to integrate refresher course students into existing basic course classes, the refresher student shall be expected to complete the entire module to obtain credit for the refresher curriculum. 3. The academy shall provide the Board staff a preliminary roster, class schedules with planned instructors, and any new instructor applications not later than 10 working days prior to the class start date. 4. The academy shall provide the Board staff an updated entrance roster (if applicable), the student’s graded entrance fitness score sheet, and the original completed training packets not later than five working days after the class report date. The candidate’s NCIC report, certificate of high school/GED completion and verification of First Aid/CPR certification must be attached. All conflicts or missing information in these packets must be resolved before process can be completed. 5. Within ten (10) working days of the completion of the class, the academy must send a copy of the certificate, and the student’s final grades to their department and to the Board. The final roster of students completing the class, written documentation of any student failure, dismissal, or withdrawal with reason from the academy must be submitted to the Board within ten (10) working days after completion of the class. 6. Any schedule changes must be reported in writing to the Board at the earliest opportunity (fax or e-mail), documented and maintained with the records of that course. A final schedule as amended with changes will be submitted with the final class roster and other end of course documents. G. Standards for successful completion of the Refresher Course are: 1. An average academic score of 70% 2. A firearms qualifying score of 75% 3. A defensive driving score of 80% 4. A mechanics of arrest score of 80% 5. A physical fitness entrance score of 50% 6. Provide verification of First Aid/CPR certification 7. Financial obligations paid in full by self-sponsored cadets. H. The Refresher Course is administered as a whole unit of training. The entire course must be completed satisfactorily to obtain certification. No credit will be given for partially completed training. In addition to the course standards, all students must adhere to all academy rules and regulations. I. It is incumbent upon the law enforcement agency to ensure that all officers obtain certification. Employers should ensure that all applications for certification are submitted on a timely basis. Once the staff has provided instructions for the certification of a particular officer, employers should encourage their personnel to attempt testing/enrolling in training programs so that each officer will be assured of completing any and all requirements within the time period.”