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Keith Cain, Chair |
The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council governs training for all of the state's law enforcement. The council is charged with certifying or approving law enforcement training schools, training instructors and curriculum, as well as administering the Peace Officer Professional Standards (POPS) certification process and monitoring the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEFPF), as prescribed by KRS 15.310 to 15.370.
The voting body of KLEC is made up of members appointed by the governor for four-year terms, as well as a variety of others who are members by virtue of their offices. The 11 appointed members always include a city manager or mayor, three Kentucky sheriffs, a member of the Kentucky State Bar Association, five chiefs of police, and a Kentucky citizen who doesn't fit one of the aforementioned classifications.
Out of State Basic Training
Effective November 2, 2006, any individual who has attended a law enforcement basic training academy in any state other than Kentucky, must work one (1) year as a sworn law enforcement officer, in the state in which they received their basic training, before academy reciprocity will be considered.
Kentucky Law Enforcement Council Committee Assignments:
Those who are members by virtue of their offices are the Attorney General; Commissioner of the State Police; Director of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville; the Dean of the College of Justice and Safety of Eastern Kentucky University; the President of the Kentucky Peace Officers Association; the President of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police; the President of the Fraternal Order of Police; and the President of the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association.
A Federal Law Enforcement Liaison designated by a conference of the United States Attorneys for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky is also a council member, but in an advisory capacity only.
KLEC meets quarterly and by law is required to report on its activities at least annually to the Governor and the General Assembly. Although its administrative offices are located at the Department of Criminal Justice Training, the KLEC is an independent agency of state government. |
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Peace Officer
Professional Standards (POPS)
The 1998 Omnibus Crime Bill (HB 455) legislation that made it possible for sheriffs and university police to participate in KLEFPF is also responsible for other sweeping changes in requirements for Kentucky law enforcement, including the Peace Officer Professional Standards Act (POPS). POPS dictate what the minimum standard is for becoming a peace officer in Kentucky.
The law requires applicants to law enforcement agencies in Kentucky to meet 17 pre-employment standards prior to becoming a peace officer in the state. The standards include five physical agility measures with a point distribution that equals 50 points for successful completion. The components are bench press, sit ups, 300 meter run, push ups and 1.5 mile run. In order to meet the state standard, an overall minimum of 50 points must be achieved.
With point possibilities ranging from 9.0 to 11.0 on each component, this approach allows a lower score on one test item to be compensated by a higher score on another test item. The POPS law also requires that applicants be U.S. citizens, be at least 21 years old, have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, possess a valid driver's license, submit fingerprints for a criminal background check, not convicted of a felony offense, not prohibited by federal or state law from possessing a firearm, have read the Code of Ethics, and have not received a dishonorable discharge or general discharge under other than honorable conditions.
Applicants also must not have not had certification as a peace officer permanently revoked in another state, have a medical examination, have a background investigation, be interviewed by their potential employing agency's executive or designee, take a written suitability screener, pass a drug screen test and take a polygraph examination. Results of a 2002 survey of the Department of Criminal Justice Training clients reflect that police chiefs, sheriffs and other law enforcement agency directors strongly agreed that POPS standards were responsible for advancing the Kentucky law enforcement community.
Law enforcement leaders across the state have been involved with POPS from the start. The standards were developed in 1997 by a 68-member committee organized and facilitated by DOCJT executive staff. The committee included representatives from all Kentucky law enforcement professional associations, every size department, EKU's College of Justice & Safety, the Southern Police Institute, the Justice Cabinet, state law enforcement, legislators and community leaders.
The committee, led by executive staff of DOCJT, was formed to develop by consensus, statewide uniform standards that peace officers would have to meet in the hiring and selection process. The process took 10 months. The goals of the POPS standards included improving the quality of people entering law enforcement, thus providing improved services to the citizens of Kentucky. Prior to POPS, Kentucky only required peace officer applicants to be at least 21 years old, not convicted of a felony offense and hold a valid operator's license.
