POST (California Peace Officers Standards and Training)
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| POST (California Peace Officers Standards and Training) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) |
| Type | State agency |
| Formed | 1959 |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California |
| Jurisdiction | California |
| Chief1 name | Chief Executive Officer |
POST (California Peace Officers Standards and Training) is the California state agency responsible for developing minimum selection and training standards for peace officers and public safety dispatchers. POST sets basic and advanced curricula, certifies academies, administers licensing and decertification processes, and provides research and grants that influence law enforcement practice across California.
History
POST was created following legislative action in the 1950s amid debates involving the California Legislature, the California State Assembly, the California State Senate, and advocacy by municipal and county law enforcement agencies. Early developments intersected with notable institutions and events such as the University of California, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department, the San Francisco Police Department, and postwar public safety reforms influenced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Advisory Commission, and civil rights-era policing debates involving figures like Thurgood Marshall and organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union. Subsequent decades saw interactions with landmark incidents and policies including responses to the Watts Riots, the Rodney King beating and the Los Angeles riots, federal consent decrees, the Christopher Commission recommendations, and state legislation influenced by the California Supreme Court, the California Governor's office, and the California Attorney General.
Organization and Governance
POST operates under a governance structure that includes an appointed board, executive leadership, and advisory committees interacting with agencies like the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards, county sheriffs' associations, city chiefs' associations, the California State Sheriffs' Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, and unions such as the California Peace Officers' Association and the Service Employees International Union. It coordinates with state institutions including the California Department of Justice, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Office of Emergency Services, and the California Department of Health Care Services. POST’s governance reflects statutory frameworks set by the California Legislature, executive oversight by governors such as Ronald Reagan and Jerry Brown, and judicial context from federal courts including the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Certification and Training Standards
POST promulgates minimum hiring standards, medical and psychological screening criteria, firearms qualification, use-of-force protocols, and curriculum requirements interacting with legal authorities such as the California Penal Code, the United States Constitution, the Fourth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and landmark cases from the U.S. Supreme Court including Miranda, Graham v. Connor, Tennessee v. Garner, and Brady jurisprudence. Training standards incorporate subject matter from organizations and publications associated with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Forum, the National Institute of Justice, the COPS Office, the RAND Corporation, and academic partners such as Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, and California State University campuses. Certification policies link to accreditation models like the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and to departmental practices at agencies including the Berkeley Police Department, the San Diego Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, and the Long Beach Police Department.
Academy and Course Programs
POST certifies basic academies and hosts standardized courses used by municipal, county, and state academies including California Highway Patrol Academy, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Academy, San Francisco Police Academy, and university-affiliated programs at San Jose State University and CSU Sacramento. Course modules cover patrol tactics informed by training doctrines used by the New York Police Department, the Chicago Police Department, and international exchanges with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Australian Federal Police, as well as instruction in de-escalation, crisis intervention involving partnerships with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and community policing models promoted by the Department of Justice and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Specialized courses touch on crowd control, tactical operations, narcotics enforcement, and implicit bias training referencing scholarship from Harvard University, Yale Law School, and Princeton University.
Officer Testing, Licensing, and Decertification
POST administers proficiency testing, background investigations, psychological evaluations, and medical examinations, coordinating with entities like the California Employment Development Department, the California Highway Patrol, county personnel boards, and municipal human resources departments. Licensing mechanisms account for federal and state legal frameworks including the Gun Control Act, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and state statutes governing peace officer powers. Decertification processes have been shaped by high-profile decertification cases, administrative law rulings, and reforms responding to incidents involving officers from agencies such as the Oakland Police Department, the Minneapolis Police Department (in broader reform discourse), and departments subject to federal oversight or consent decrees.
Research, Policy Development, and Grants
POST conducts and funds applied research and policy development, issuing reports and grant awards that influence practice across local agencies, sheriff's offices, special district police forces, and campus police departments including those at University of California and California State University campuses. Research partnerships involve think tanks and universities such as RAND Corporation, the Public Policy Institute of California, University of California Los Angeles, and collaborations with federal programs like the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Justice. Grant programs support technology adoption, body-worn camera deployments tested in agencies like the Los Angeles Police Department, data systems integration referencing the National Crime Information Center, and pilot programs for crisis intervention and diversion.
Controversies and Reforms
POST has been central to controversies and reform debates involving officer-involved shootings, oversight of use-of-force, transparency, data collection, and accountability, with public scrutiny intensified by incidents connected to the Los Angeles Police Department, the San Francisco Police Department, the Oakland Police Department, and nationwide movements such as Black Lives Matter. Reforms have included legislative actions by the California Legislature, executive orders from governors, civil litigation in federal courts, recommendations from commissions like the Christopher Commission, and policy shifts influenced by research from Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, and the Police Executive Research Forum. Ongoing debates address decertification authority, data sharing mandates, civilian oversight mechanisms exemplified by models in New York City and Chicago, and the balance between training standardization and local control.