Like many other professions, police officers undergo additional training throughout their career, which keep them updated on the law and societal circumstances. The North Royalton Police Department is no different, with ongoing training that may vary from year to year.
Police Chief Keith Tarase said that there are various types of training, such as use of force, legal updates, officer personal wellness, responding to sexual assault, domestic violence. Each one of these subjects is trained in four-hour blocks. Officers are required to complete 16 hours worth of training, according to Ohio state mandates. An additional eight hours are also required this year, from the following categories: law enforcement to mass protests/demonstrations, standards for law enforcement vehicular pursuits, investigation of employee misconduct, bias-free policing, body-worn cameras, use of deadly force, recruitment and hiring, community engagement, agency wellness. They are considered conditional professional training.
State mandated training is partially reimbursed, based on the number of officers. This year, the city paid about $38,000 for this additional training of the North Royalton police officers. Normally, Tarase said that the city pays about $20,000 per year. “There was a lot of training this year,”said Tarase.
In addition to the 24 hours of training, all thirty-three officers attended the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training. Crisis Intervention Team Training educates officers about mental illness and teaches de-escalation techniques to reduce the harm to both themselves and individuals that are involved in a crisis situation. Tarase said that the three officers that were hired this year will be trained in CIT next year.
The city decided to include this training after a presentation was given at a county chief meeting that Tarase attended. The North Royalton officers started the training in January. Tarase said that “this training has been in the background. They had not offered it as regularly, as of late. This year, they offered it twice a month.” This offered a better opportunity for the training. He stated that there was also the financial consideration. The training was funded by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County, who reimbursed the department for the training. Although the CIT training is not mandated at this time, Tarase said that there is pending legislation in the state to make it mandatory.
According to the ADAMHS website, “the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is a community partnership of law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, individuals who live with mental illness and/or addiction disorders, their families and other advocates. It is an innovative first-responder model of police-based crisis intervention training to help persons with mental disorders and/or addictions, access medical treatment rather than place them in the criminal justice system due to illness related behaviors. It also promotes officer safety and the safety of the individual in crisis.” It teaches how to deal with, not only mentally ill individuals, but with those who are disabled, and addresses issues specific to various races and cultures. It also addresses issues, such as hoarding, addiction, depression and suicide. “The training will cover: Review of Mental Illness & Substance Use Disorder, Use of the Emergency Certificate (i.e. Pink Slip), Overview of the new Cuyahoga County Diversion Center, De-escalation strategies, Verbal Judo, Scenario Based Activities, and much more.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer