[1] The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (the first body to use the acronym "POST") was established in 1959.
[1] However, the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), a cooperative association of leaders of various state police certification and licensing programs, has published a recommended set of "model minimum state standards" in 2004.
[15] Experts favor in-service training because it offers insights to police officers on newer research and best practices.
[16] Moreover, in some states where continuing police education is mandatory, funding for training and mechanisms for tracking compliance are lacking.
[21] As of 2018, 27 states and District of Columbia require police officers to undergo training on interacting with individuals with mental, substance use, or behavioral disorders.
[22] In most states, officers do not receive firearms training sufficient for the proficient handling of guns in real-world scenarios.
[22] Experts attribute these training gaps to a significant number of accidental shootings (unintentional discharges) by police officers.
An Associated Press report found that there were 1,422 unintentional discharges by officers at 258 law enforcement agencies of all sizes between 2012 and December 2019, and that these unintentional discharges caused injuries (to officers, suspects and bystanders) 20% of the time and caused death 8% of the time.
[16] A two-year study conducted by the Force Science Institute, a Minnesota-based police research and consulting firm, found that "skills like using a baton or taking down an aggressive offender deteriorate dramatically within two weeks.
[25] By 2016, six states (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California and Hawaii) still lacked decertification authority.
[15] In a 2009 survey, almost all states reported that they had the authority to revoke an officer's certificate upon conviction of a felony; a smaller number of states reported that they had the authority to revoke an officer's certificate upon conviction of any misdemeanor or for certain misdemeanors.
[29] For example, in Maine, "Agencies must tell the state about officers arrested or convicted of a crime, as well as those fired or allowed to resign for misconduct.
[29] In Indiana, there is "no requirement for agencies to inform the state about officer arrests or noncriminal misconduct allegations.
[28] Although removal is mandatory is such cases, the AP found that it was routine for a year or more to elapse, following officers' convictions, before the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council filed petitions seeking decertification, and that it was common for another year to go by for decertification to become final (after a hearing before an administrative law judge and a vote by the council).
[28] Iowa enacted a law in June 2020 to strengthen the decertification process by, among other things, requiring the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council to decertify officers who engage in "serious misconduct" (such as fabricating evidence or repeatedly using excessive force) and by requiring police departments to report details of an officer's misconduct to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council within 10 days after the officer resigns or is terminated.
[31] Officers can only be decertified in Washington state following a felony conviction or a firing for perjury or dishonesty; illegal drug use or possession; "actions that lead to a loss of gun rights"; or misconduct under color of authority.
"[25] A 2015 AP investigation uncovered numerous incidents of police officers who were terminated or resigned from a police agency after being accused of sexual misconduct, were then rehired by a different policy agency, and were subsequently accused again of misconduct.
Beyond their own misbehavior, wandering officers may undermine efforts to improve police culture, as they carry their baggage to new locales.