By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
August 12, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — For nearly 20 years, the law enforcement training standards in Missouri have gone untouched.

At press conferences across Missouri last week, including a stop in Kansas City, Gov. Jay Nixon directed the Peace Officer Standards and Training [POST] Commission and the Missouri Department of Public Safety to update and enhance these law enforcement training standards. The governor is directing the POST Commission and the Department of Public Safety to put forward new rules by Dec. 1, 2015, to improve access to effective and ongoing training in the key areas of tactical training, fair and impartial policing, and the health and well-being of officers. Nixon said they owe it to the men and women in law enforcement to provide our officers with the knowledge and training they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.

In developing the new standards, the POST Commission will hold public hearings around the state to gather input from Missourians, including law enforcement agencies, advocacy groups and other stakeholders.

“Today’s law enforcement officers are on the front lines fighting against domestic and foreign terrorism, called to handle crimes fueled by severe mental illness, domestic violence, drug addiction, and child abuse,” Nixon said. “Those who answer this high calling must have a diverse set of skills.”

Nixon pointed out that a lot has changed since 1996, the last time training standards were updated by the state. These changes don’t require legislative passage, as they are administrative rules.

With the events of Ferguson, and other incidents around the country concerning police, Nixon said it’s the state’s obligation to lead the discussion on the issue. He added that the energy of the discussion around the country is what leads him to believe that now is the time for these changes.

“We have a responsibility to set an example,” Nixon said. “Since we haven’t changed these rules since 1996, officers don’t have to have yearly, continual education. They can stack those all into three-year periods at the end. Plus we want to expand the course work and expand training across the state. Training is something you have to continue to do.”

The Governor also made five new appointments to the POST Commission — one of whom was Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III — which establishes standards for peace officer basic training, officer continuing education, law enforcement instructors and law enforcement training academies. By statute, the POST Commission must include three police chiefs; three sheriffs, one member representing a state law enforcement agency; two members who are peace officers at or below the rank of sergeant employed by a political subdivision; one member who is a chief executive officer of a certified training academy; and one public member.