Pennsylvania Code
Title 37 - LAW
Part IV - Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission
Subpart A - Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Program
Chapter 203 - ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM
Subchapter B - POLICE OFFICER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Section 203.11 - Qualifications
Universal Citation: 37 PA Code ยง 203.11
Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), persons who are to be employed as police officers by police departments within this Commonwealth from December 21, 1996, shall:
(1) Be 18 years of age or older.
(2) Possess a high school diploma or GED
Equivalency.
(3) Be citizens of the
United States.
(4) Be free from
convictions of disqualifying criminal offenses.
(5) Be able to read at no less than the ninth
grade level, as established through the administration of the Nelson-Denny
Reading Test.
(6) Be personally
examined by a physician, physician's assistant, or certified nurse practitioner
who is licensed in this Commonwealth. The examination must include the
following:
(i) Applicants shall be free from
the addictive or excessive use of either alcohol or drugs which shall be
determined using current laboratory testing procedures.
(ii) Applicants shall be free from the use of
illegal controlled substances which shall be determined using current
laboratory testing procedures.
(iii) Applicants physical condition shall be
such that applicants could reasonably be expected to withstand significant
cardiovascular stress.
(iv)
Applicants shall be free from any debilitating conditions such as tremor,
incoordination, convulsion, fainting episodes or other neurological conditions
which may affect the applicants' ability to perform as police
officers.
(v) Applicants shall have
visual acuity of at least 20/70, uncorrected in the stronger eye, correctable
to at least 20/20; and at least 20/200, uncorrected in the weaker eye,
correctable to at least 20/40. In addition, the applicant shall have normal
depth and color perception and be free of any other significant visual
abnormality.
(Editor's Note: Subparagraph (v) is suspended pending resolution of a lawsuit filed against the Pennsylvania State Police (Wilson v. Pennsylvania State Police, et al. No. 94-6547 U. S. District Court-Eastern District of Pennsylvania. See 28 Pa.B. 2924 (June 27, 1998).)
(vi)
Applicants shall have audio acuity sufficient to distinguish a normal whisper
at a distance of 15 feet. The test shall be independently conducted for each
ear while the tested ear is facing away from the speaker and the other ear is
firmly covered with the palm of the hand. The applicant may not use a hearing
aid or other aid to perform the test. If the applicant fails this test, the
applicant shall be required to take and pass a decibel audio test.
(vii) Applicants may not be missing any
extremities, including digits, which would prevent performance of required
police duties or meeting minimum training requirements.
(viii) Applicants shall be free from any
other significant physical limitations or disabilities which would, in the
physician's opinion, impair the applicant's ability to perform the duties of a
police officer or complete the required minimum training
requirements.
(7) Be
personally examined by a Pennsylvania licensed psychologist and found to be
psychologically capable to exercise appropriate judgment or restraint in
performing the duties of a police officer. The examination shall include the
following elements:
(i)
Interview and
history. The psychologist shall personally interview the applicant.
The interview shall include a summary of the applicant's personal, educational,
employment and criminal history.
(ii)
Required psychological
test. Applicants shall be administered a current standard form of the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).
(iii)
Other testing methods
. If the licensed psychologist is unable to certify the applicant's
psychological capability to exercise appropriate judgment and restraint to
perform the duties of a police officer including the handling of a lethal
weapon, the psychologist shall employ whatever other appropriate techniques to
form a professional opinion of the applicant's ability. The use of these
additional techniques requires a full and complete written explanation to the
Commission on a form submitted by the psychologist to the Commission indicating
what additional testing has been performed and the results of the
tests.
(8) Be evaluated
to determine physical fitness using the standards developed by the Cooper
Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas. Each applicant shall score no
lower than the 30th percentile of the Cooper standards, which coincides with
the 30th percentile of the general population, in each of the required
evaluations to be eligible for employment. A person will not be enrolled in a
recruit training program at a police academy certified by the Commission unless
the person has obtained a score in the 30th percentile or higher for the
person's age and gender as specified in the Cooper standards for each of the
required evaluations. The required evaluations are as follows:
(i) 1.5 mile run.
(ii) 300 meter run.
(iii) One repetition bench press.
(iv) One minute sit ups.
(9) Certify whether they have taken a
physical examination or psychological evaluation conducted in conjunction with
an application for police employment within the previous year and the outcome
of the examination or evaluation.
(10) Be subject to a thorough background
investigation conducted by the applicant's employing police department. The
investigation shall include the following:
(i)
A criminal history check including the submission of fingerprints to the
Central Repository for the Commonwealth and to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
(ii) A check of the
applicant's credit history.
(iii)
Personal interviews conducted with at least 3 people that have personal
knowledge of the applicant but are not related to the applicant.
(iv) Interviews of the applicant's employers,
if any, for the past 5 years to determine the applicant's work
history.
(v) A check of the
applicant's driving record verifying that the applicant has a valid driver's
license.
(11)
Successfully complete a basic police training course given at a
Commission-certified school or obtain a waiver of training as enumerated in
§
203.12 (relating to waiver of
training).
(i) Successful completion of a
basic police training course shall be determined by the training school, based
upon Commission standards.
(ii) To
qualify for this certification, an applicant shall:
(A) Achieve a minimum qualifying firearms
score of 75%.
(B) Receive
certification for First Aid and CPR from the American Red Cross, the Department
of Health, the American Heart Association or other agencies approved by the
Department of Health.
(C) Comply
with Commission and school rules and regulations.
(D) Pass the same certification exam
administered to those seeking waiver of training as set forth in §
203.12(4).
(I) Applicants who are not employed
as a police officer by a police department within this Commonwealth or do not
have a conditional offer of that employment shall pay an examination fee equal
to the actual cost of administering the test.
(II) Applicants who are employed as a police
officer by a police department within this Commonwealth or have a conditional
offer of that employment do not pay an examination fee.
(E) Attend 100% of all classes.
(I) Excused absences shall be mutually agreed
upon by the police officer's department head and school director. School
directors shall determine excused absences for applicants not employed as
police officers.
(II) Excused
absentees shall include personal illness or injury, illness in the immediate
family requiring the applicant's attention or death in the immediate
family.
(F) Complete the
basic training course approved by the Commission with a minimum grade as
established by the Commission. The Commission will publish a notice in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin and in the Commission newsletter
whenever the minimum grade on each tested area of examination changes.
(I) Applicants not achieving the minimum
grade in any tested area shall repeat the failed training in that area before
being eligible to take the examination in that tested area at a
Commission-certified school. If the applicant fails to achieve the minimum
grade on the applicant's second attempt, the applicant shall be required to
successfully retake and pass the entire basic police training course to qualify
for certification.
(II) Applicants
not achieving the minimum grade in two separate tested areas during one basic
police training course shall be required to retake and pass the entire basic
police training course in order to qualify for certification.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to persons who meet one of the following conditions:
(1) Previously held valid
certification issued by the Commission within 2 years prior to the date of
employment on the application. Persons who received a certification prior to
1988 and who did not have a psychological evaluation shall obtain a
psychological evaluation to obtain certification.
(2) Were sworn and full duty members
honorably discharged from the Pennsylvania State Police within 2 years prior to
the date of employment on the application for certification. A past member who
enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police prior to May 1998 and who did not
have a psychological evaluation shall obtain a psychological evaluation to
obtain certification.
The provisions of this § 203.11 amended under 53 Pa.C.S. § 2164(1), (8) and (14).
This section cited in 37 Pa. Code § 203.15 (relating to application packet submission).
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