Police training agency issues guide to requirements for officers and chiefs

The Municipal Police Training Committee, the state agency that sets training standards for, and delivers training to, the Commonwealth’s municipal police officers, has issued a memorandum that outlines the necessary steps for obtaining and maintaining police authority.

By statute, police officers must comply with established training requirements prior to exercising police powers. Police chiefs and officers who are hired and placed into positions as working police officers without first meeting training and/or exemption requirements may potentially find themselves in the midst of a challenge to their police authority. This would then put the community in a tenuous situation as well.

Failure to be aware of such requirements does not relieve the appointing authority of liability. Dan Zivkovich, executive director of the Municipal Police Training Committee, states that the goal of the memorandum is to help communities avoid liability.

The document has been reviewed and approved by the general counsel of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

For more information, contact Zivkovich or MPTC Training Director Marylou Powers. Contact information can be found on the MPTC website (www.mass.gov/mptc).

• Municipal Police Training Committee memo regarding police officer certification (160K PDF)