Administrative Rule Review Report #AR07-069
Legislative Service Office
19-Dec-07
AGENCY: Attorney General, Peace Officers Standards and Training.
DATE SUBMITTED: December 18, 2007.
SUBJECT: Chapters 1 through 6 and 8 through 10, Peace Officers' Standards and Training Rules.
NATURE OF RULES: Legislative and Procedural.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-710.
DETERMINATION OF PROCEDURAL COMPLIANCE BASED UPON INFORMATION
SUBMITTED BY THE AGENCY TO LSO: Apparently complete to date.
SUMMARY OF RULES: The proposed rules amend portions of the existing rules of the Wyoming Peace Officer's Standards and Training Commission contained in Chapters 1-6 and 8-10. The following is a summary of the proposed changes by chapter. Non-substantive changes throughout the rules have not been noted in this review.
Chapter 1 (General Provisions) is amended by clarifying that the statutory authority for the Commission to adopt rules is contained in W.S. 9-1-701 through 9-1-710.
Chapter 2 (Minimum Standards for Employment as Peace Officers, Detention Officers, and Dispatchers) is amended by clarifying that a background investigation is only necessary for an applicant applying for a position as a peace officer or detention officer who is not currently certified in Wyoming. Chapter 2 also contains the new general provisions for dispatchers in Wyoming. Every applicant who is appointed as a dispatcher in the State must now be: 1) a United States citizen; 2) an adult; 3) a high school (or equivalent) graduate; 4) of good moral character; and 5) free of all physical, emotional or mental conditions which may affect the applicant's performance as a dispatcher. A background investigation must also be completed by the hiring agency before an applicant who is not currently certified in Wyoming may be employed as a dispatcher. Agencies may establish more stringent hiring requirements than those set forth in the proposed rules, but cannot adopt hiring standards that are less stringent.
Chapter 3 (Certification and Training Standards for Peace Officers), Section 7 (Re-entry Employment) is amended to require that a firearms proficiency challenge test is conducted by a POST certified officer from "another agency". This "other agency" is presumably a reference to a different law enforcement agency than the agency that is considering hiring the officer previously certified in Wyoming or certified in another state.
Chapter 4 (Certification and Training Standards for Detention Officers), Section 7 (Re-entry Employment) is amended by attempting to clarify the re-entry certification requirements for detention officers previously certified in Wyoming and currently certified in another state based on the amount of time since the applicant was last employed as a detention officer and the applicant's length of service as a detention officer. Chapter 4, Section 9 (Certification of Correctional Officer as Detention Officer) is created to provide a framework so that an individual who currently is, or previously was, employed as a state correctional officer may be employed as a municipal or county detention officer (there does not appear to be a reciprocal framework for a detention officer to become a correctional officer). Finally, Section 10 (Detention Officers Working with Juveniles in Collocated Facilities) is created to provide that a detention officer who works with both juvenile and adult inmates in a collocated facility shall be trained and certified in a program that includes, at a minimum: 1) youth development, 2) adolescent physical health, 3) adolescent mental health, and 4) nonviolent crises intervention. Section 10 meets the requirements of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (Public Law 93-415, as amended) and was previously submitted as an emergency rule (Emergency Rule Review Report #ER07-32, October 8, 2007).
Chapter 5 (Certification and Training Standards for Dispatchers) is amended to require that a temporary dispatcher certification meets the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 2 (General Provisions Dispatchers). Section 7 (Re-entry Employment) is amended to clarify the level of training and background checks required for applicants previously certified as dispatchers based on the length of time since the applicant was last employed as a dispatcher. Section 7 is further amended to create a certification process for dispatchers currently, or previously, certified in another state to become certified in Wyoming. Section 8 (Pre-service Graduate Certification) is amended to require a pre-service applicant to meet the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 2 and to allow a hiring agency to accept a pre-service graduate's psychological and physical exams up to 1 year from graduation. The term "pre-service graduate" is not defined in the rules.
Chapter 6 (Minimum Standards for Employment as Correctional Officers) is amended to require background investigations for all applicants who are not currently certified in Wyoming as correctional officers.
Chapter 8 (Denial, Suspension or Revocation of Certification), Section 3 (Other Grounds for the Denial, Suspension or Revocation of Peace Officer, Dispatcher, or Correctional Officer Certification) is amended to include "substantial failure to comply with the act or these rules" as other grounds for the denial, suspension or revocation of peace officer, detention officer, or correctional officer certification.
Chapter 9 (Practice and Procedure for Denial, Suspension or Revocation of Certification), Section 4 (Commencement of Formal Proceedings for Suspension or Revocation of Certification) is amended to require notice of a hearing be sent by both certified and regular mail and that a response to the notice must be received within 20 days of the date of the notice or a adverse decision may be entered by default. Section 5 (Docket) is amended by striking the provision that required a presiding officer of a hearing to "advise the commission". Section 11 (Legal Representation) is amended to allow the Commission to request the office of the Attorney General to provide personnel to advise the Commission. Section 13 (Order of Procedure) is amended by striking the term "representative of the Commission" and replacing it with the phrase "the Director or his counsel".
Chapter 10 (Minimum Standards for Schools and Training Programs), Section 4 (Accreditation of In-Service Training Programs) is amended by requiring accreditation requests for training to include an outline of the course which includes a breakdown of hours of instruction for the course.
FINDINGS:
The rules appear to be within the scope of statutory authority and legislative intent
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
That the rules be placed on the Consent List and approved by the Council as submitted by the Agency.
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Matthew D. Obrecht
Staff Attorney
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David K. Gruver
Assistant Director
MDO/