First Posted: 3/14/2015
COLUMBUS (AP) — An advisory group commissioned by Attorney General Mike DeWine to study possible changes to police training in Ohio is taking a hard look at the state’s training academies.
About one in three police academies in the state has a student success rate of 75 percent or above, according to data compiled by the advisory group as part of its review.
“You look at some of these academies, they’re hitting it out of the park, they’re certainly what you would consider gold standard or best practice academies,” Andy Wilson, Clark County prosecutor and an advisory group member, said Friday.
“And there are other academies that aren’t even close,” he said.
Wilson’s “use of force” subcommittee is suggesting the state abolish a current system where students pay tuition to community-college run academies.
The subcommittee, whose proposal is not final, is also suggesting the creation of regional training sites operating like the highway patrol academy, which uses a paramilitary style approach where students are paid while they’re trained.
Final recommendations to DeWine aren’t expected for a several weeks.
Ohio’s 61 police academies are broken into two general types. Most with high success rates are “closed,” meaning recruits are hired on by agencies as they’re trained. The academies are often run like modified boot camps.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Cleveland police academies are among “closed” academies with high ratings.
“Open” academies are typically run by community colleges and charge tuition. Many of those have student success rates far below 75 percent.
Both types must offer a minimum state requirement of about 600 hours of police training, though both often exceed that.
Zane State College, with open academies in Zanesville and Cambridge, has a three-year success rate of 52 percent, according to an advisory group report.
The school typically graduates 12 to 30 participants a session, which can last up to 35 weeks for classes offered at night and about half that long for day classes.
Graduates generally go to work for local eastern Ohio police departments, including Zanesville and Cambridge and the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, said academy commander Rick Condor.
Comparing big academies like Columbus’ with smaller ones like Zane State is difficult given the missions and resources of the two types, Condor said.
Academies such as Zane State’s are important at a time when officers are being asked to engage more with communities, he added.
“Community-based policing starts with community-based training,” Condor said.
DeWine created the study group last year after several fatal police shootings and protests of those shootings in Ohio and nationally.
He has told the group to focus especially on training for use-of-force situations and for officers dealing with racially diverse populations in their communities.
DeWine also wants to know whether Ohio officers are trained well enough in recognizing when they are dealing with an active shooter. The committee is also studying how to improve officers’ interactions with mentally ill individuals.
