Less than a month away from deadline, hundreds of law enforcement officers across the state may be up for suspension Jan. 1 if officials do not receive documentation they have received special training required by a law passed several years ago.
As of Dec. 1, Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training officials said they have yet to receive notification from about 950 officers -- out of more than 9,000 in Oklahoma -- that they had completed sexual assault and sexual violence investigation training. CLEET is the certification and training organization for the state's law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement officers certified by CLEET are required by state law to receive the special training or face suspension.
Organizations with at least one officer who has not been documented as receiving the training include the Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa Fire Department, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, according to a list posted on CLEET's web site. CLEET itself was one of the 250 listed organizations.
Steve Emmons, CLEET executive director, said most officers in the state should have received their training by now and just haven't sent in their paperwork, which is an annual problem.
There is a backlog of data entry on training sign-in sheets at CLEET, and many organizations wait until the Jan. 1 deadline to send in their paperwork, making the backlog worse, Emmons said.
"We try and educate the state and agencies to send it (their paperwork) in because we can't enter it until it's here," Emmons said.
Each year, officers in Oklahoma are required to take 25 hours of continuing education either through CLEET or a training program sanctioned by CLEET, Emmons said.
The 25 hours must include four hours of training on mental health issues and a one-time-only sexual assault and violence investigation training for six hours, according to state statute.
"We were given a deadline four years ago to get 9,000 officers this training," Emmons said. "The classes have been going on this entire time. There are some (officers) that are still trying to get in."
James Wilson, CLEET's in-office attorney, said the law requiring the special training was passed in 2007. Since then, CLEET has offered more than 200 classes to satisfy the law, he said.
Emmons said CLEET will continue to offer classes until Dec. 20.
Despite the last-minute training sessions for about 10 percent of Oklahoma's officers, Emmons said he anticipates very few actual suspensions.
Officers are usually given a grace period after the deadline to get their training before a three-month legal process of suspension begins, Emmons said.
Emmons said he doesn't know the number of officers suspended each year for failing to do their mandatory training, but said the number is normally very low.
Copyright 2011 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
