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23.13.206    REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BASIC CERTIFICATE

(1) POST will issue basic certificates in the following disciplines:

(a) peace officer;

(b) detention/corrections officer;

(c) probation and parole officer;

(d) public safety communications officer;

(e) coroner; and

(f) reserve officer.

(2) In addition to ARM 23.13.204 and 23.13.205, the following are required for the award of the basic certificate:

(a) Public safety officers hired after August 1, 2008, must have completed:

(i) the probationary period prescribed by law or by the current employing agency, but in any case have a minimum of one year discipline-specific employment experience with the current employing agency; and

(ii) the basic course or the equivalency as defined by the council.

(b) Public safety officers hired before August 1, 2008, must have:

(i) completed the probationary period prescribed by the employing agency, and served a minimum of one year with the present employing agency;

(ii) completed the basic course at the MLEA, or an equivalency as defined by the council; or

(iii) satisfied the requirements for the basic certificate by their experience, and satisfactorily performed their duties as attested to by the head of the agency for which they are employed.

(c) Public safety officers with out-of-state training or who have been formerly employed by a designated federal agency, state, tribal entity, county, municipality, city, or town who do not have basic certification and are employed by a Montana law enforcement and/or public safety agency:

(i) must have completed the probationary period prescribed by law, but in any case have a minimum of one year experience with the present employing agency;

(ii) whose training or service time is determined by the council as equivalent to the basic course must successfully complete an equivalency program, approved by the council and administered by the MLEA. The council will require those who fail an equivalency program to successfully complete the basic course at the academy; and

(iii) whose training or service time is determined by the council as not equivalent to the basic course must, within one year of initial appointment, successfully complete the basic course.

(d) All of the training and equivalency requirements for the basic certificate must be accomplished within one year of the initial appointment.

(e) The council may grant a one-time extension to the one year time requirement for public safety officers upon the written application of the officer's appointing authority. The application must explain the circumstances that make the extension necessary. The council may not grant an extension to exceed 180 days. Factors that the council may consider in granting or denying the extension include but are not limited to:

(i) illness of the public safety officer or a member of the public safety officer's immediate family;

(ii) absence of reasonable access to the basic course, or the legal training course; and/or

(iii) an unreasonable shortage of personnel within the department.

(f) A public safety officer who has been issued a basic certificate by the council and whose last date of employment as a public safety officer was less than 36 months prior to the date of the person's present appointment as a public safety officer is not required to fulfill the basic educational requirements as set forth in these rules.

(g) If the last date of employment as a public safety officer is more than 36 months but less than 60 months prior to the date of present employment as a public safety officer, the public safety officer may satisfy the basic requirement by successfully passing a basic equivalency course administered by the academy. If the public safety officer fails the basic equivalency course, the basic course shall be completed within the time frames set forth in the rules. If no basic equivalency course exists for the public safety officer's specific discipline, then the applicable basic course must be completed within one year of the public safety officer's most recent appointment.

(3) An officer meeting the qualifications outlined above will be issued a basic POST certificate. POST will consider the completion of the above requirements to constitute the officer's application for a POST basic certificate. However, if an officer wishes to fill out an application form, then POST will also consider that application.

 

History: 2-15-2029, MCA; IMP, 2-15-2029, 44-4-403, MCA; NEW, 2008 MAR p. 1587, Eff. 8/1/08; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 2951, Eff. 12/12/14; AMD, 2017 MAR p. 1953, Eff. 10/28/17.

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