Kirksville residents and Adair County law enforcement officers took the opportunity to voice their concerns and suggestions regarding officer training standards during a public meeting Wednesday.
The Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training commission (POST) and the Missouri Department of Public Safety (MDPS) hosted a public meeting in compliance with Governor Jay Nixon’s directive that the POST commission take steps to update and enhance law enforcement training standards. The POST commission and MDPS have traveled to St. Louis, Springfield, Kansas City, Jefferson City and Sikeston gathering public input on what changes need to be made. Kirksville is the commission’s last public hearing before they begin creating the new regulations. The deadline for the new rules is Dec. 1.
According to a press release, Nixon instructed the commission to specifically focus on improving training standards in the areas of tactical training, fair and impartial policing, and the health and well-being of officers.
MDPS Director Lane Roberts says the next step will be for the commission to spend these next few weeks breaking down the concerns voiced by citizens and coming up with regulations that meet those needs. He says the commission will seek both internal and external input on the new standards as they create them.
MDPS Deputy Director Stephen Sokoloff says citizens can continue to make suggestions by emailing post@dps.mo.gov. He says the commission is asking that all comments be submitted by Friday Oct. 16 so the commission has an appropriate amount of time to sort through the concerns.
For more information about citizen concerns about law enforcement training, pick up a copy of the Index on Oct. 20.