Audit: State’s law enforcement academies go uninspected

Sept. 26--The Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission has not inspected any of Tennessee's law enforcement training academies for more than two years, an audit released this week revealed.

The state Comptroller's Office this week made public a performance audit of the Tennessee Department of Insurance and Commerce. It shows that the POST Commission, which is the primary regulatory agency for the state's law enforcers, did not darken the doorways of any of the 11 training academies in the state, including four in East Tennessee, in 2012 or 2013.

Officials confirmed Thursday that POST has not conducted a required on-site inspection at the training facilities operated by the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department since at least 2011.

In the audit, POST Executive Secretary Brian Grisham blamed "personnel losses and travel restrictions." State law requires annual on-site visits to the academies, which provide the basic law enforcement training all law enforcers in Tennessee must receive to be POST-certified officers.

A Commerce Department spokeswoman referred to the audit for POST response.

"Without adequate compliance monitoring, the POST Commission is limited in its ability to ensure that law enforcement training academies are providing appropriate training and graduating qualified officers," the audit stated.

The audit also revealed the problem is not new. The Comptroller's Office made similar findings in a 2008 audit, and POST promised to beef up its efforts, saying it had boosted its staff.

"Management stated (in 2008) that ... commission investigators would conduct annual on-site visits and that at least one extensive review would be performed every two to three years," the 2014 audit stated. "Deficiencies, however, still exist."

POST now says "additional responsibilities have put a strain on existing resources" and it wants to "modify the monitoring rule to allow for less frequent on-site visits," the audit stated. The agency also is proposing a plan to recruit volunteers from law enforcement agencies to conduct the on-site visits.

KPD Chief David Rausch and KCSO Assistant Chief Deputy Bobby Spangler both said Thursday that although their training academies have not been inspected by POST for the past three years, they are not concerned with the level of training they afford or the work POST does.

"We send down and request approval from POST for every training (program) we run," Spangler said. "If we don't talk to POST at least once a week, I'd be surprised. When POST initially approves an academy, they go through everything you've got. What they're looking for after that is consistency. They've already seen (the KCSO academy). Unless there's some red flag, why come and check it when we've been here since 1996?"

Rausch said Lt. Tammy Debow, who heads KPD's training academy, and her staff likewise have regular contact with POST investigators, garnering approval for all training curriculum.

Rausch noted KPD's academy was the first in the state to receive accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a national approval process. To maintain accreditation, the academy must undergo inspections by CALEA once every three years. The academy was inspected by CALEA last year, he said.

"They go through all of our files," he said. "They review everything we do."

CALEA uses volunteer training specialists to conduct its accreditation reviews, and POST Secretary Grisham told state auditors he already has approached the Tennessee Chiefs and Sheriffs Associations with a similar plan.

Spangler and Rausch said they are amenable to providing such volunteers. Both praised POST for the work its investigators do, which goes well beyond inspected academies. The POST investigators, for instance, must review and approve all specialized training classes offered at the various academies, and handle the $8 million in training reimbursements paid out to law enforcement agencies.

Capt. Mike Brooks said KCSO regularly hosts eight to 10 specialized courses every year, all of which must receive POST approval in order for officers to garner credit toward the 40 hours of annual in-service training law enforcers must receive.

KCSO has five full-time instructors at its academy and provides the mandatory 400 hours of basic training for new recruits and the annual in-service training not only to its own deputies but law enforcers throughout the region, and from other states, Spangler said. The academy boasts an indoor and outdoor firing range, classroom space and, in its most recent addition, a multipurpose room for both book work and hands-on training exercises.

Rausch said KPD's facility has six full-time instructors. Among its academy offerings are a "shoot house" in which trainees can experience armed raids and similar real-life training scenarios, and a computer simulator. The chief said KPD is hoping to expand its facility soon.

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