Topic: standards

AN ACT to amend and reenact §30-29-3 and §30-29-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
2 amended, all relating to the duties of the law-enforcement training and certification
3 subcommittee,providing for a minimum of 800 classroom hours for a law-enforcement
4 academy,clarifying that the required classroom hours shall be accumulated on the basis
5 of a full-time curricula,authorizing the law-enforcement training and certification
6 subcommittee to deny an application for the establishment of a new law-enforcement
7 academy if it is determined that no need exists,requiring that a person seeking certification
8 complete the approved law-enforcement training academy within 18 consecutive months
9 of the commencement of employment as a law-enforcement officer,authorizing
1 0 extensions of such requirement,requiring graduates of state law-enforcement academies
11 successfully complete an entry level law-enforcement examination promulgated by the
12 law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee prior to certification,establishing
13 time frames for completion of training requirements,and making technical corrections.

Law enforcement officers shall not use a person’s race or ethnicity to form probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle but may use a person’s race or ethnicity to confirm a previously obtained description of a suspect.

Each state and local law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy and implement an annual training program regarding racial profiling that provides and instructs that a law enforcement officer shall not use a person’s race or ethnicity to confirm a previously obtained description of a suspect.

The purpose of this bill is to clarify the duties of the law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee, provide for a minimum of 800 classroom hours for a law-enforcement academy, clarify that the required classroom hours shall be accumulated on the basis of a full-time curricula, authorize the law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee to deny an application for the establishment of a new law-enforcement academy if it is determined that no need exists, require that a person seeking certification complete the approved law-enforcement training academy within 18 consecutive months of the commencement of employment as a law-enforcement officer, authorize extensions of such requirement, require graduates of state law-enforcement academies successfully complete an entry level law-enforcement examination promulgated by the law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee prior to certification, establish time frames for completion of training requirements, and make technical corrections.

Implements the Governor’s Public Safety Reform Initiative, engages with communities, especially those marginalized or harmed by policing, to develop and deploy best policing practices, provides that state and local law enforcement agencies recruit, hire, retain and promote officers who reflect the values and diversity of the communities they serve.