Certification and Training Division

Certifications & Training Division Staff

Officer Certification

The primary function of the Certification Division is to ensure compliance, by agencies and peace officers, of qualifications and training requirements enumerated in the P.O.S.T. Act and to bring action against those agencies and officers in noncompliance. Other major responsibilities include:

Processing of peace officer applications for certification and registration
Issuance of basic certification certificates
RADAR and Speed Timing device certifications
Field technical assistance
Processing of specialty certification for Field Training Officers, Arson Investigators, Chaplains, Identification Technicians, Communications Officers, and Jail Officers
General and Specialty Instructor Certifications
Out-of-State course equivalency ratings for approval/disapproval
Technical assistance to ten regional police academies
Processing and evaluating new course recognition requests

Certification of Peace Officers

All employees of any agency that are granted the full rights and powers under the definition of a peace officer as defined by the P.O.S.T. Act must be certified by P.O.S.T.

Peace officer applicants must complete ALL pre-employment requirements before employment. Once the pre-employment requirements are met, a POSTFORM 2 is issued.

Basic Certifications issued by the Council include:
Basic Law Enforcement
G.B.I. Investigator
Sheriff
Communications Officer
G.B.I. Narcotics Agent
Correctional Officer
Probation Officer
Parole Officer
Registered (Grandfathered)
Forensic Scientist (G.B.I.)
Juvenile Correctional Officer

P.O.S.T. Council also issues Specialty Certifications to officers and other agency staff. Specialty certifications issued by P.O.S.T. include:

RADAR
LASER
VASCAR
Field Training Officer
Identification Technician
Chaplain
Departmental Training Officer
Jailor
Instructors
Career Development Certifications
Arson Investigator
Senior Deputy

Each Specialty Certification has established certification and training requirements that must be met. Some Specialty Certifications have recertification requirements that must be completed to maintain certification in that area.

Peace Officer Records

P.O.S.T.'s Certification and Training Division maintains the following records on the P.O.S.T. computer system:
Personnel history
Training Records
Employment History
Officer Certifications
Officer Registrations
Revocations
Suspensions
Terminations
Training Courses
Agencies
Chief Executives
Advanced Certification Records
Sheriffs', Wardens' and Chiefs' Current Training Histories
Other Miscellaneous Records

P.O.S.T. maintains employment, certification and training records on over 82,000 officers. Of these, over half are actively employed in their field of certification.