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12 CAR § 1-109. Minimum standards for training
12 CAR § 1-109. Minimum standards for training.
(a) Basic police training course.
(1) Each full-time law enforcement officer must satisfactorily complete the basic police training course within the time period established in this part.
(2)(A) Any full-time law enforcement officer who has previously met the minimum training requirements and has been separated from law enforcement for more than seven (7) years but less than ten (10) years may, at the request of a sponsoring law enforcement agency, prior to employment by the sponsoring law enforcement agency, be allowed to take a comprehensive written examination prepared, administered, scheduled, and graded by the Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training.
(B)(i) If the law enforcement applicant successfully passes the comprehensive written exam, they may forego attending the full basic law enforcement training course provided they attend the refresher course currently offered, as well as meet the other selection requirements, prior to being eligible for certification.
(ii) The examination will:
(a) Be administered at a time and date scheduled by the division; and
(b) Consist of questions taken from:
(1) The current edition of Arkansas Criminal and Traffic Law Manual, published by Lexis Nexis; and
(2) This part.
(iii) Law enforcement applicants who desire to take the comprehensive written exam must have completed a state or federal law enforcement academy consisting of at least the current number of required hours to complete the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy basic law enforcement training course.
(iv) An applicant who fails to pass the two hundred fifty-question examination with a minimum score of seventy percent (70%) after two (2) attempts is required to complete the basic law enforcement training course in order to be eligible for certification.
(v) Anyone who has been separated from law enforcement for over ten (10) years is required to attend a new basic law enforcement course without exception.
(3)(A) Part-time, specialized, and auxiliary law enforcement officers will be required to satisfactorily complete not less than one hundred ten (110) hours of Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training-approved law enforcement training, including a firearms qualification course equivalent to the firearms qualification requirements for a full-time law enforcement officer.
(B) Separation from law enforcement for three (3) years will result in the auxiliary, specialized, or the part-time law enforcement officer being required to attend a new one hundred ten–hour training course.
(4)(A) Any law enforcement officer who fails to satisfactorily complete the required training course for their classification within the time period allowed by this part or who, once enrolled in the course, fails the course or is expelled from the course, will not be eligible for training nor certification for twenty-four (24) months following the date of:
(i) Failure or expulsion from the training course; or
(ii) Expiration of the probationary period.
(B) In the event a law enforcement officer fails the course or is expelled from the course, said officer shall not be eligible to serve, be employed, or otherwise function as a law enforcement officer in this state from that date until the expiration of twenty-four (24) months following the date of failure or expulsion from the training course.
(C) If an officer properly appeals their failure or expulsion, said officer may retain their eligibility to serve as a law enforcement officer until such time as the commission has ruled upon said appeal or expiration of the time period allowed by this part, whichever occurs first.
(5)(A) If an officer fails to satisfactorily complete the required training in a total of nine (9) months from the original date of employment or appointment, plus any extension granted by the commission, they shall not be eligible to be retained as a law enforcement officer in this state.
(B) Reappointment or reemployment as a law enforcement officer will be considered only after the person has been separated from law enforcement for at least twenty-four (24) months.
(C) Upon reappointment or reemployment, an officer would be eligible to begin a new probationary period.
(D) Should the officer fail to meet the minimum training requirement for a second time, they will not be eligible for certification as a full-time, part-time, auxiliary, or in any other law enforcement officer position.
(6) The minimum amount of training for which certification will be granted in the basic law enforcement training course shall be a minimum of five hundred twenty (520) hours.
(7) Requirements:
(A) Successful completion of a minimum of five hundred twenty (520) hours of instruction at a school;
(B) The commission will not accept satisfactory completion of the basic law enforcement training course unless the trainee has attained:
(i) At least seventy percent (70%) in each academic block of instruction; and
(ii) A passing score of eighty percent (80%) on the commission-approved firearms course;
(C) A minimum academic score of seventy percent (70%) on each examination administered in the course will be required for successful completion; and
(D)(i) To be eligible for retention on a permanent basis, a law enforcement officer must satisfactorily complete a basic law enforcement training course or its equivalent within nine (9) months or, with an approved extension, a total of twelve (12) months from the date of employment.
(ii) Any requests for a three-month extension not received by the commission prior to completion of the nine-month period will not be considered.
(b) Law enforcement refresher course.
(1) The refresher course will be required for all full-time law enforcement officers who:
(A) Are new employees; and
(B) Completed their training in:
(i) Another state;
(ii) A federal agency; or
(iii) The military police.
(2) The refresher course will be required for all full-time law enforcement officers who have been separated from law enforcement for a period of three (3) to seven (7) years.
(3)(A) An auxiliary, part-time, or specialized law enforcement officer who was previously a full-time law enforcement officer may return to full-time status if they meet the yearly training requirements each year they are an auxiliary, part-time, or specialized police officer.
(B) If such officer fails to meet the yearly training requirements, they are subject to the requirements of either subdivision (a)(2) or (b)(2) of this section, whichever is applicable, if they want to return to full-time status.
(4) Any full-time law enforcement officer not required to attend the refresher course may voluntarily apply and, if accepted, receive the training.
(5) Requirements:
(A) The refresher course shall primarily consist of the current course for part-time and auxiliary law enforcement officers;
(B) Any person attending the refresher course to supplement previous training and fails to satisfactorily complete the training will be required to attend a basic law enforcement training course at a commission-approved training facility; and
(C) The commission may approve changes in this course when it is determined that such change is compatible with the needs of law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies.