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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Some police academy leaders are concerned that proposed statewide precertification standards for cadets could hurt enrollments.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine proposed new standards earlier this month. Applicants would have to pass drug, mental, fitness, and truth verification tests. The Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, which oversees the state's law enforcement training, is expected to vote on the standards next month.
"There needs to be some uniformity in the state," DeWine said. "If you're a citizen in a village where the police department does not have those requirements, why should you be in a position where your police doesn't have those requirements but your neighboring village or city does? These are things to protect police and to protect the public and to set minimum standards statewide."
Some Dayton-area commanders at open-enrollment police academies told the Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/1SkEKAO ) on Sunday that precertification requirements should be implemented.
The Attorney General's Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training made the recommendations. The group was tasked with looking at how the state trains law enforcement officers and making suggestions for improvement.
But Paul Weber, commander at Clark State Community College, in Springfield, says the standards would result in a duplication of tests and checks, since many police departments already screen candidates.
DeWine said he is comfortable with OPOTC working on the timing of the standards and looking at how to avoid duplicating required tests and screenings for candidates.
Ellis "Pete" Willis, the Sinclair College police academy commander, said the standards could add up to $1,000 to the cost of the training program, possibly discouraging potential students from applying.
"All of us involved in the process of training, selecting and hiring, we all have the same goal which is to get the best possible people into this career field to do a very demanding job," said Willis. ".. Exactly where some of these requirements come into play, still needs to be identified as to at what point in that continuum of training and hiring, is it most appropriate to do these checks and balances."
There are about 64 peace officer basic training academies across the state, according to the state attorney general's website. Police academies can be closed if they have less than 10 students.
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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com
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