The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) is conducting a comprehensive review and update of the 16-week Basic Police Academy in a series of phases.  There are no plans to expand beyond 16 weeks, but the content is getting a complete overhaul to ensure that material is current, reflective of your agency and community needs, and is an effective and efficient use of the 640 training hours available.  

So far, the following has been completed:

• The Phase 1 Advisory Panel met from May to October 2017, and developed about four weeks of new curriculum.  Phase 1 focused on the new officer/deputy/trooper themselves (Emotional Intelligence, Resiliency, Ethics, Communication, etc.) as well as introduced them to concepts related their relationship with the community (Legitimacy and Procedural Justice, Implicit Bias, Community Competency, etc.).  Phase 1 provides the foundation for a new officer to interact with citizens in a “simple” encounter.  The Phase 1 product was approved by the DPSST board in January 2018, and implemented in February 2018.

• The Phase 2 Advisory Panel met from March to October 2018, and developed about ten weeks of new curriculum. Phase 2 focused on skills to “close a call”, including the legal foundation (Procedural and Criminal Law), Behavioral Health, Use of Force, Defensive Tactics, and Firearms. At this same time, a parallel group was revising the opportunities for recruits to practice these skills by developing an entirely new scenario training program. The Phase 2 product was approved by the DPSST Board in January 2019, and will be implemented in July.

Now it is time to convene the Phase 3 Advisory Panel. This panel will consist of two sub-groups each working on different topic areas.

• One group will work on traffic related topics (Vehicle Stops, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Motor Vehicle Code, Crash Investigations) as well as DUII related topics (Drugs that Impair Driving, DMV Implied Consent, DUII Report Writing, Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and Intoxilyzer).

• The second group will work on basic investigations topics (specialized investigations such as domestic violence and child abuse, report writing, court proceedings, etc.).

The time commitment for Phase 3 is one meeting (about 4 hours) per month and some work outside of the monthly meetings to pull together and review content. Meetings will begin in June and conclude in November.

We want to make sure that we have good representation from agencies statewide.  This includes city, county, state, university and tribal agencies, but also geographic, agency-size, rank, etc.  We are looking for participants from every size agency and also different backgrounds such as command staff, trainers (skills, classroom, etc.), field training officers, community members, and others. To encourage statewide participation we offer free meals and lodging at DPSST, and reimbursement of personal vehicle mileage, to anyone traveling over 75 miles.  We will also make participation possible via teleconference.

The first meeting will be held on June 6, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the DPSST Boardroom located at 4190 Aumsville Hwy SE, Salem. This will be a working meeting and lunch will be provided to panel participants. This will be a public meeting, so others who are interested, but not participating on the panel, may sit in and observe.

If you, or members of your agency, would like to participate in one of the Phase 3 sub-groups (Traffic/DUII or Investigations), please send me the following by May 8, 2019:

• Name
• Agency
• Position/Assignment
• Phone Number
• Email
• Sub-Group Interest: Traffic/DUII or Basic Investigations
• Any Specialty Topic(s) of Interest

If too many names are received, we may need to limit participation, but that is a problem we are glad to work through!

Thank you for your consideration,

Staci Yutzie

Program Development Coordinator

DPSST

staci.yutzie@state.or.us

503-378-2426

## Background Information on the DPSST ##

The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) operates the Oregon Public Safety Academy which spans more than 235 acres in Salem. The Academy is nationally recognized for its innovative training programs and active stakeholder involvement.  Eriks Gabliks serves as the Director, and Sheriff Jason Myers of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office serves as the Chair of the Board. The department implements minimum standards established by the Board for the training and certification of more than 40,000 city, tribal, county and state law enforcement officers, corrections officers, parole and probation officers, fire service personnel, telecommunicators, emergency medical dispatchers and private security providers.

DPSST provides training to more than 25,000 students each year throughout Oregon and at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem: certifies qualified officers at various levels from basic through executive; certifies qualified instructors; and reviews and accredits training programs throughout the state based on standards established by the Board.