The powers and duties of the commission shall be as follows:
(1) To establish and administer the minimum courses of study for basic and in-service training for police officers and to revoke an officer's certification when an officer fails to comply with the basic and in-service training requirements or is convicted of a criminal offense or the commission determines that the officer is physically or mentally unfit to perform the duties of his office.
(1.1) To provide training for police officers with respect to:
(i) Recognition of mental illness, intellectual disabilities and autism.
(ii) Proper techniques to interact with and de-escalate individuals engaging in behavior indicative of mental illness, intellectual disability or autism.
(iii) Instruction on services available to individuals with mental illness, intellectual disabilities or autism.
(iv) Instruction on interacting with individuals of diverse racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds.
(2) To approve or revoke the approval of any school which may be utilized to comply with the educational and training requirements as established by the commission.
(3) To establish the minimum qualifications for instructors and school directors, to approve or revoke the
approval of any instructor or school director and to develop the requirements for continued approval.
(3.1) To suspend or revoke the certification of a police officer or the approval of an instructor or school director for a violation of 37 Pa. Code Ch. 203 (relating to administration of the program). The following shall apply:
(i) In the case of a suspension, a hearing examiner appointed by the commission shall recommend to the commission whether the certification of a police officer or the approval of an instructor or school director shall be suspended. If the certification or approval is suspended, the hearing examiner shall recommend a period of suspension which may be approved by the commission. At the end of the period of suspension, the police officer, instructor or school director may reapply for certification or approval.
(ii) A police officer, instructor or school director whose certification or approval is revoked before, on or after the effective date of this paragraph may apply to the commission for reinstatement no sooner than one year following the date of revocation.
(iii) The commission shall develop standards and guidelines to determine whether certification or approval shall be reinstated. Separate standards shall be developed for suspension and revocations.
(4) To promote the most efficient and economical program for police training by utilizing existing facilities, programs and qualified Federal, State and local police personnel.
(5) To make an annual report to the Governor and to the General Assembly concerning the administration of the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Program and the activities of the commission, together with recommendations for executive or legislative action necessary for the improvement of law enforcement and the administration of justice.
(6) To require every police officer to attend a minimum number of hours of in-service training as provided for by regulation to maintain certification by the commission, unless the officer's employer files a show cause document with the commission requesting additional time for the officer to comply with the in-service training requirements. Approval of this request shall be made by the commission on a case-by-case basis. In-service training shall require annual instruction on the use of force, including deadly force, de-escalation and harm reduction techniques, and shall include on a biennial basis instruction in community and cultural awareness, implicit bias, procedural justice and reconciliation techniques as developed by the commission.
(7) To require all police officers to undergo a background investigation to determine the individual's suitability for employment as a police officer. This investigation shall be completed prior to the employment of the officer and shall include a criminal history check, a credit check, personal interviews and any other applicable means of determining eligibility. An applicant who has been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor shall not be eligible for employment as a police officer.
(7.1) To require any individual applying to the commission to attend basic police training at a school, or an individual applying to the commission for certification as a police officer or any individual applying to the
commission for approval as an instructor or school director to submit fingerprints and other identifying information to the Pennsylvania State Police. The Pennsylvania State Police shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of a national criminal record check and the Pennsylvania State Police shall check the fingerprints against the Pennsylvania State Police central repository for the purposes of obtaining a criminal history record check. The following shall apply:
(i) Any criminal history information obtained under this section by the commission may be considered only to the extent to which it relates to the person's suitability to attend basic police training or to be certified as a police officer or approved to be an instructor or school director.
(ii) The provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 9121(b) (relating to general regulations) shall not apply to a request for a criminal history record check submitted under this section.
(8) To require minimum standards for physical fitness, psychological evaluation and education as prerequisites to employment as a police officer. The following shall apply:
(i) The minimum physical fitness standards for a school located in a city of the first class shall require an applicant for certification to score no lower than the 30th percentile of the Cooper standards, which coincides with the 30th percentile of the general population, for each required evaluation to be eligible for employment as a police officer. A school may not enroll an individual into a recruit training program certified by the commission unless the individual has obtained a score in the 15th percentile or higher for the individual's age and gender as specified in the Cooper standards for each required evaluation.
(ii) Subparagraph (i) shall expire five years after the effective date of this subparagraph.
(iii) The minimum education standards shall include a demonstration of reading comprehension through the use of a reading comprehension test approved by the commission. The commission shall:
(A) Immediately approve two reading comprehension tests.
(B) Evaluate additional reading comprehension tests that are submitted by a school or that otherwise come to the attention of the commission for review.
(C) Provide notice of a list of approved reading comprehension tests by:
(I) Transmitting notice of the list to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. (II) Posting the list on the publicly accessible Internet website of the commission.
(iv) Within 12 months of the effective date of this subparagraph, the Joint State Government Commission shall issue a report to the General Assembly on the impact that the current minimum standards for physical fitness, psychological evaluation and education prerequisites to employment as a police officer may or may not have on recruitment, education and training of individuals to serve as police officers in jurisdictions across this
Commonwealth. This subparagraph shall expire upon transmission of the report to the General Assembly. The Joint State Government Commission shall provide notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau that the report has been sent to the General Assembly under this subparagraph.
(9) To appoint an executive director to administer the training program established by this subchapter. The position of executive director shall be filled by the commission which shall select the best qualified person from a list of three persons nominated by the chairman. The person who receives a simple majority of those members present and voting shall become the executive director. If the commission rejects all nominees, then the process shall be repeated until a person is selected. The executive director shall be directly responsible to the commission and may be dismissed only by two-thirds vote of the commission. The executive director shall employ a sufficient staff, including professional, administrative and clerical personnel, to perform the tasks of the office, including the preparation of an annual budget.
(10) To consult and cooperate with universities, colleges, community colleges and institutes for the development of specialized courses for police officers.
(11) To consult and cooperate with departments and agencies of this Commonwealth and other states and the Federal Government concerned with police training.
(12) To certify police officers who have satisfactorily completed basic educational and training requirements as established by the commission and to issue appropriate certificates to those police officers.
(13) To visit and inspect approved schools at least once a year.
(14) To make such rules and regulations and to perform such other duties as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to implement the education and training program for police officers.
(15) With respect to mandatory basic training:
(i) To grant waivers of mandatory basic training to police officers who have successfully completed previous equivalent training or who have acceptable full-time police experience, or both.
(ii) To grant waivers of portions of mandatory basic training to Federal law enforcement officers and military police officers who have successfully completed previous equivalent training. In order to be certified by the commission, Federal law enforcement officers and military police officers shall fulfill basic police training requirements and meet the minimum standards required for certification.
(16) To assess, in consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and other State, community or local organizations and agencies that have expertise in the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the training needs of police officers on recognizing and interacting with veterans and other individuals suffering from TBI or PTSD. Should the commission determine that there is a need for specialized training on TBI and PTSD, the commission shall develop a training course that shall be made available to all police officers and law enforcement agencies within this Commonwealth.
(17) To train police officers with respect to:
(i) Recognizing child abuse.
(ii) The provisions regarding reporting suspected child abuse under 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to child protective services).
(iii) The efficacy of conducting forensic interviewing of victims of child abuse within the setting of a children's advocacy center. As used in this paragraph, the terms "child abuse" and "children's advocacy center" shall have the meanings given to them in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6303 (relating to definitions).
(18) To train police officers in trauma-informed care and with respect to recognizing and interacting with individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, including intervening with or on behalf of other police officers exhibiting post-traumatic stress disorder. (Dec. 30, 2002, P.L.2001, No.230, eff. imd.; Oct. 9, 2008, P.L.1385, No.105, eff. 60 days; Oct. 24, 2012, P.L.1316, No.165, eff. imd.; July 10, 2015, P.L.138, No.25, eff. 60 days; July 14, 2020, P.L.624, No.59; Oct. 11, 2023, P.L.49, No.10, eff. 60 days; Dec. 14, 2023, P.L.342, No.37, eff. imd.) 2023 Amendments. Act 10 amended pars. (3) and (3.1) and added (7.1) and Act 37 amended par. (8). 2020 Amendment. Act 59 amended pars. (1.1) and (6) and added pars. (17) and (18), effective immediately as to the amendment of pars. (1.1) and (6) and 60 days as to the addition of pars. (17) and (18). 2012 Amendment. Act 165 amended par. (15) and added pars.
(3.1) and (16). 2008 Amendment. Act 105 amended par. (1).
Unconstitutionality . Act 230 of 2002 was declared unconstitutional. City of Philadelphia v. Commonwealth, 838 A.2d 566 (Pa. 2003). Cross References. Section 2164 is referred to in sections 2167, 2168, 2169 of this title.
