Liability comes in many forms for law enforcement agencies, including the risk of police officers harming others in the course of their duties. This makes careful and appropriate hiring a critical task for police departments, even in an era where officer recruitment has grown more difficult. After the officer is hired, proper and thorough training plays a key role in preventing dangerous situations and liability.
In a case where a police officer has injured a person, a court could find that the officer’s law enforcement agency knew — or should have known — specifics about the officer’s background that would indicate the officer had a dangerous or untrustworthy character. A court can use this finding to hold the municipality employing the officer liable.
Agencies can reduce the risk of this outcome with a hiring practices policy aimed at making sure that it selects qualified employees without issues in their background.
The hiring process for an officer should include numerous steps:
- physical agility and aptitude testing,
- an oral interview,
- a background investigation,
- a conditional offer,
- a medical physical,
- drug testing and
- psychological testing.
The training process that comes after officers are hired includes both departmental training and training through the SC Criminal Justice Academy to become certified. In South Carolina, law enforcement officers must then have 40 hours of training every three years for recertification. This includes mandatory training for legal updates, domestic violence, emergency vehicle operation and mental health. Training should go well beyond the standard yearly training — it should be a key component in ongoing development of an officer.
Every person hired as a police officer is likely to have a keen interest in some particular area of law enforcement, so training officers can often make the process more meaningful by understanding each officer’s interests and building on them.
Police officers who remain in the profession long enough can be expected to encounter difficult incidents. An officer engaging in a wrongful act or unnecessary violence can greatly damage a community and its relationship with its law enforcement.
While strong department policies and procedures can help to guard against bad policing outcomes, there can be no replacement for careful training of officers and tests to make sure they have a full comprehension of the law and what is expected of them. A police department facing an excessive force allegation should be able to show documentation of the date that an officer received training, and that the officer passed comprehension questions.
Possible changes to police training are one of the items currently considered in the law enforcement reform bill, H3050. Also, the Municipal Association’s Risk Management Services provides a law enforcement hiring process and other policies and training resources for its member departments.