Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training

rdf:langString Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training

rdf:langString The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is an administrative body of the State of Minnesota that sets regulations and controls the training and licensing of police officers. The Minnesota legislature replaced the Minnesota Peace Officer Training Board (MPOTB) with POST in 1977. Minnesota was the first U.S. state to introduce an occupational licensing system for law enforcement officers. The POST Executive Director reports to the board's 15 members which include 10 law enforcement officers, two educators and two members of the public, all appointed by the governor, plus the superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who serves ex officio. Colleges and universities that offer training for police officers must be certified by the Board. The Board is responsible for the exams candidates must pass before they can become police officers in Minnesota. More than 80 percent of Minnesota's police officers receive their training through one of colleges or universities in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. POST is also tasked with revoking licenses of police officers found guilty of felony offences (automatic revocation), or other crimes or offensive conduct, but an investigative report showed that this happens much less frequently than similar-sized jurisdictions such as Oregon and describes POST as "lax oversight".