Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 501 - Law Enforcement Academy
Chapter 2 - Minimum Standards for Iowa Law Enforcement Officers
Rule 501-2.1 - General Requirements for Law Enforcement Officers
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 13, December 25, 2024
In no case shall any person hereafter be selected or appointed as a law enforcement officer unless the person:
(1) Is a citizen of the United States and a resident of Iowa or intends to become a resident upon being employed; provided that the state residency requirement under this subrule shall not apply to employees of a city or county that has adopted an ordinance to allow employees of the city or county to reside in another state and shall not apply to an employee of a city or county that later repeals such an ordinance if the employee resides in another state at the time of the repeal. A city or county that has adopted an ordinance to allow the employees of the city or county to reside in another state shall provide a current copy of the ordinance to the Iowa law enforcement academy. Railway special agents who are approved by the commissioner of public safety as special agents of the department shall be exempt from the Iowa residency requirement.
(2) Is 18 years of age at the time of appointment.
(3) Has a valid driver's or chauffeur's license issued by the state of Iowa. Railway special agents who are approved by the commissioner of public safety as special agents of the department and officers who are allowed to reside in an adjacent state shall be required to possess a valid driver's or chauffeur's license of the state of residence of the officer.
(4) Is not addicted to drugs or alcohol.
(5) Is of good moral character as determined by a thorough background investigation including a fingerprint search conducted on local, state and national fingerprint files and has not been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. "Moral turpitude" is defined as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which a person owes to another person or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between person and person. Moral turpitude is conduct that is contrary to justice, honesty or good morals.
(6) Has successfully passed a physical test adopted by the Iowa law enforcement academy.
(7) Is not by reason of conscience or belief opposed to the use of force, when necessary to fulfill that person's duties.
(8) Is a high school graduate with a diploma, or possesses a GED equivalency certificate.
(9) Has an uncorrected vision of not less than 20/100 in both eyes, corrected to 20/20, and has color vision consistent with the occupational demands of law enforcement.
(10) Meets hearing standards as outlined below.
Before functional testing, the examining physician must ensure that the aid(s) has been worn regularly for at least one month, since it takes some practice before an individual obtains the maximum benefit from the hearing aid(s). Furthermore, the examining physician should obtain all records from the audiologist who dispensed the hearing aid(s). The records must include documentation of the fitting program and other hearing aid settings, which are used on a regular basis by the candidate. This information shall be reviewed by the certified audiologist performing the testing procedure to verify that the settings have not been intentionally altered.
The following protocol must be used. No modifications to the candidate's hearing aid program or settings should be made prior to or during the performance of this protocol.
The examining physician may use the evaluation algorithm described in Hearing Guidelines-Abnormal Audiogram, with one exception. Many present-day hearing aids employ methods of sound processing that vary as a function of the background noise level, and it is necessary to measure aided sound field HINT thresholds through a range of background noise levels. Therefore, candidates who use hearing aid(s) should be functionally normal both under standard HINT background noise levels (i.e., 65dB) and at levels that are commonly encountered in the field (80dB).
The candidate has met the required hiring standards if the candidate has demonstrated acceptable functional ability when wearing a hearing aid(s) and wears a hearing aid(s) when assigned to field duty.
(11) Is examined by a licensed physician or surgeon and meets the physical requirements necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a law enforcement officer.
(12) Has not been previously decertified in another jurisdiction.
(13) Has not committed any act that could result in decertification under 501-Chapter 6.