APSC Proposed Regulations

Additional explanation pertaining to APSC regulations may be found in our available APSC User’s Guide.
 

Questions and Answers Recieved on This Regulation Project

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Based on how it reads, will it be possible for a lateral with several years of supervisory experience prior to Alaska law enforcement employment, to acquire the supervisor or management certificates? 
Law Enforcement service time as a police, probation/parole, corrections, municipal corrections, or village police officer counts towards APSC certification. For the police intermediate and advanced certifications currently in regulation, prior training hours and prior years of experience as a police officer do count towards those certification requirements. This will be the same for the proposed regulation requirements.
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How does this affect Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO)’s?
APSC regulations do not affect VPSOs.
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Do you know if a management level training that was more than 160 hours, would suffice for both training hours requirement for supervisor and management certifications?
The training would suffice if it was council approved supervisor and management training.
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Will the supervisory/management certificate be required for people in those positions? Or is this an optional credential?
The only required certification is basic certification.  All other certifications are optional.
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Will there be any information sent out more clearly defining "supervised."
No. The proposed regulation states “have directly supervised at least one other police officer full-time for at least 12 months.”  An Officer in Charge or Field Training Officer does not supervise full-time and would not count towards this requirement.
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The new proposed regulations doesn’t include Pretrial Services Officers. Is that an oversight?
Division of Pretrial, Probation and Parole went through a class study. The class study concluded that the Pretrial Services Officers differentiated from Probation Officers, so now Pretrial Services Officers are in their own job class.
This is not an oversite. Per statute, APSC certifies Probation/Parole officers. APSC has not started to address how the job class differences between Probation/Parole officers and Pretrial service officers may affect APSC statutes or regulations.
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How do you apply for the certifications?
Any APSC certification is applied for by submitting the proper APSC form and including any necessary documentation of training.
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Is the applicant responsible for applying for the certificate and submitting proof of trainings to the Council?
Yes.  The applicant is responsible for applying for the certificate and submitting proof of trainings.
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I understand that 13 AAC 85.230 is proposed to be amended to establish standards for intermediate and advanced professional certification levels for probation, parole and correctional officers but why is this needed? For the Supervisory and Management certificate why is this needed? What would these certifications do for the parties that are eligible? 
APSC’s mission is to “produce and maintain a highly trained and positively motivated professional, capable of meeting contemporary law enforcement standards of performance.” Intermediate and Advanced certifications require a person have training hours and/or education. A benefit of training is providing additional tools for an officer to use which will increase their ability to handle the unique situations of Law Enforcement. Training presents fresh avenues for professionalism, officer safety, and learning current or changing law enforcement industry professional standards and ethics. Intermediate and Advanced certifications are not based on years of service, but rather years of service, education, and training hours.  There are no disadvantages to officers having more training and education. Pre supervisory training.      
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Is the proposal saying the officer who completes the academy has to complete more training to reach the intermediate level? Why is the academy not sufficient in their training, if this is the case?
The basic academy is sufficient to satisfy the requirements for basic certification. The proposed certifications require additional training hours.
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Why are the State’s yearly trainings, that are already required, not sufficient to meet these certificates automatically? 
The proposed certifications are not automatically conferred as they are optional. Law enforcement agencies make their own policies and procedures regarding agency training. APSC does not currently mandate any yearly trainings.    
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If Officers must receive additional trainings, then will the State be mandated to pay for the trainings?
The proposed certifications are not mandatory.  They are optional.
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Will the trainings be provided to the employee on State time?
That would be up to the agency to determine.
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Will the classes have to be approved in advance by the Council?
The 40 hours of supervisor or management training must be council approved.  It would be highly recommended the training be approved in advance.
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 Is it guaranteed that all Officers that want into trainings be allowed to attend these classes within an appropriate amount of time? Will Officers that have been on the job longer get priority to attend these trainings?
The entity hosting or sponsoring a training determines who attends the training. APSC is not involved in that agency process. The regulations do not have a timeframe attached to training hours.     
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If these certificates are needed for employment, then why is the employer not responsible for providing trainings and submitting documentation to the Council?  
The proposed certifications are optional and not needed for employment. Only basic certification is required for permanent employment in an APSC certified position.  
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What negative effects will occur if an officer does not submit any documents or applies for any certificates?
There are no negative effects as the proposed certifications are optional.
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 Will an officer with over 20 years of law enforcement experience, be grandfathered in with an “advanced certificate”?
The proposed regulations are optional.  No one will be grandfathered in.
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If an officer with over 20 years of law enforcement experience that did not submit any paperwork be consider subordinate or inferior to an officer with just 10 years of law enforcement experience with an “advanced certificate”?
APSC does not determine seniority. Possession of an optional certification does not make an officer superior or inferior to another officer.  
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The chart says to be eligible for Intermediate certificate you need to have a minimum of 2 years of experience, BA or BS Degree, and 40 hours of training. It then says hours earned while attending a basic academy may not be applied to the requirements towards the intermediate certification. Does this mean that when an officer finishes with the basic academy they will not automatically advance to the intermediate level?
The proposed certifications are optional and will not be automatically conferred. An officer who completes the basic academy will not automatically obtain any APSC certification. Completing the basic academy is only one requirement towards basic certification. The officer also must work for a minimum of one year and complete a field training program to be eligible to apply for basic certification. The regulation means an officer must have the required amount of training hours outside of their academy hours to be eligible.  An example is the intermediate certificate at two years requires 40 hours of training.  An officer whose academy was 400 hours, must show 40 hours of training outside of the basic academy to satisfy the training hours requirement.  
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Will this prevent an officer from receiving a raise right after they finish the academy as some agencies do?
No.  APSC does not determine salary for other agencies.
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Will I get paid more for filling out the forms?
No. APSC does not determine salary for other agencies.
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A person cannot “have directly supervised at least one other officer for at least 12 months” until you become a supervisor. Would you explain how one would obtain a supervisor certificate without first being a supervisor?
A person cannot obtain a supervisor certificate without first being a supervisor.  Much like a person cannot obtain a basic officer certificate until after successfully being an officer for at least 12 months.
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If an officer is currently a supervisor and does not obtain the Supervisory or Management certificate, can that supervisor be dismissed from being a supervisor and, if so, how long would they have to complete this supervisory certificate?
APSC is not the employing agency and does not have the ability to dismiss or demote other agency’s employees. A requirement of the proposed certifications is the applicant must be currently employed in an APSC certified position.
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If the certificates are required, are they intended to prevent advancements or merit increases for employees?
The proposed regulations are optional. They are intended to promote training, professionalism, and career development in officers.    
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Exactly when would the Standards Council cause these actions to take effect?
The proposed regulations process follows the same general procedure. The regulations are put out to public comment, the agency reviews and adopts the proposed regulations. The regulations then go through a final review by the Department of Law, then the agency does a final adoption, and the proposed regulations are sent to the Lt Governor’s office for their review and signature. Once that is done, the regulations are signed by the LT Governor and become in effect. As this is a process, we cannot give an exact date of when the proposed regulations, should they be adopted and approved, would be signed by the Lt Governor’s office.  The agency review phase will happen at the next APSC Council meeting, which is scheduled for April 30, 2024.
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End of Questions and Answers

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Links to current Police, Village Police, and Corrections Minimum Standards, Training, and Certification Regulations

• 13 AAC 85: Minimum Standards for Police, Probation, Parole, Correctional, and Municipal Correctional Officers.
• 13 AAC 87: Certification of Police, Probation, Parole, Correctional, and Municipal Correctional Officer Training Programs and Instructors.
• 13 AAC 89: Minimum Standards for Village Police Officers