TITLE 250 LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING BOARD

Economic Impact Statement

LSA Document #08-288

Under IC 4-22-2, the Law Enforcement Training Board intends to adopt a rule under the authority of IC 5-2-1-9(g) and 250 IAC 2-7-1, where the minimum hours of in-service training an officer must satisfactorily complete each year is 24.

With the demand on Indiana law enforcement officers, to become competent in more subject areas, for example, domestic terrorism and human and sexual trafficking, the Law Enforcement Training Board passed Resolution R2008-04, that each person subject to this rule shall complete a minimum of 24 hours of in-service training annually. A minimum of two of these hours must be in the subject of firearms, a minimum of two of these hours must be in the subject of physical tactics/use of force, and a minimum of two of these hours must be in the subject of police vehicle operations. These requirements shall become effective for the 2009 training year. Several other states, like Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maine have 40 hours as their minimum number of in-service training hours required annually.

It is estimated over 590 departments and over 12,500 police officers will be impacted by this rule. Before the resolution was passed by the Law Enforcement Training Board, the Board's study committee asked the Indiana Sheriffs' Association and the Indiana Chief's of Police Association to poll its members, on the acceptance of the minimum number of in-service training hours annually being raised to 24. The study committee learned that no member department registered an objection and many departments provide more than this amount of in-service training.

The increase in the number of in-service training hours to each law enforcement department in the state should be nominal. Presently, there are over 3,000 certified police instructors throughout the state of Indiana capable of delivering quality training. The federal government through Homeland Security and through the two U.S. Attorney General offices in Indiana conduct numerous in-service training classes at little to no cost to the departments. Many classes are provided on-line allowing the student to take the classes at hours and days convenient to them. The process of in-service training, the conducting, the documentation, and the collection of in-service hours is already in place by both the departments and the academies.

The Law Enforcement Training Board has given the law enforcement departments in the state of Indiana over two years preparatory time to ensure their training officers would be prepared. Each year, the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy conducts a statewide trainers meeting. For the last two years, the addition of in-service training hours has been on the agenda and each year was met with positive support.

Raising the standards for in-service training hours each year can only help to protect the citizens of Indiana and provide the communities in which they work with a more professional officer.

DIN: 20081022-IR-250080288EIA

Composed: Apr 27,2024 5:11:37AM EDT

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