SB 373

Under current law, the Law Enforcement Standards Board (board) is attached

to the Department of Justice. There are 15 members on the board who serve

four-year terms and, among other duties, establish minimum educational and

training standards for law enforcement officers, tribal law enforcement officers, jail

officers, juvenile detention officers, and constables.

This bill separates the training standards into three distinct categories: 1) the

standards for law enforcement officers and tribal law enforcement officers; 2) the

standards for jail officers; and 3) the standards for juvenile detention officers. Under

the bill, constables and marshals who are given law enforcement duties are subject

to the same training standards as law enforcement officers and tribal law

enforcement officers.

The bill makes several changes to the training and education standards,

including setting forth a training and education protocol for law enforcement

students, recruits, and temporary or probationary employees. Under the bill, law

enforcement officer students and tribal law enforcement officer students are

required to submit fingerprints and undergo a criminal background check. Any

person who has been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor related to domestic

violence may not participate in a student training program for becoming a law

enforcement officer or a tribal law enforcement officer. Under the bill, under most

circumstances a recruit or a temporary or probationary employee must complete his

or her training program within the original period of his or her temporary or

probationary employment, not to exceed 12 months, except that the board may

extend that period if the recruit or employer shows good cause for the board to do so.

The bill eliminates specific hour requirements for training and education and

allows the board to determine the specific outcome criteria and training curricula,

including the required subjects, number of hours, objectives, and measures of

performance for the training and education protocol for each category of officer. The

bill requires the board to develop model standards for use by law enforcement

agencies to show handgun proficiency and to include handgun proficiency in the

preparatory program and recertification training. The bill allows the board more

flexibility than exists under current law for determining how law enforcement

agencies are reimbursed for expenses related to training and educating officers.