Audit of the Municipal Police Training Committee Overview of Audited Entity

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Municipal Police Training Committee.

Overview

The Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), an agency within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), was established by Section 116 of Chapter 6 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

According to MPTC’s fiscal year 2024 internal control plan,

The MPTC’s mandate and mission is to set the police training standards for all law enforcement officers certified by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (“POST”), and to develop, deliver, and maintain a record of that training for over 23,000 police officers (municipal, [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority], environmental, campus, hospitals), deputy sheriffs, harbormasters, constables, and other statutorily defined personnel who perform police duties and functions in the Commonwealth. These responsibilities are to be carried out in a way that ensures high quality, standardized, community-oriented training.

MPTC is administered by an executive director, who is selected by the Secretary of EOPSS, and a committee of voting and advisory (nonvoting) members.

MPTC’s oversight board, also called the Municipal Police Training Committee, comprises the following 15 voting members: five chiefs of police (four from different regions of the Commonwealth and one from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, all appointed by the Governor), the police commissioner of the City of Boston, the colonel of the State Police, the Attorney General, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement, the chair of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, two sheriffs appointed by the Governor, one chief of police selected by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, one police officer appointed by the Governor, and one person designated by the Secretary of EOPSS. Members are appointed for three-year terms. The board chair is elected annually by the board members.

In addition, a 17-member nonvoting, advisory committee provides MPTC with expert advice and various perspectives to enhance training standards and policy development. Further, a seven-member MPTC Standards Subcommittee provides MPTC with advice on legal and policy issues, adjudicates discipline appeal hearings involving student officers, and makes recommendations to MPTC on certain administrative decisions.

New Recruit Training

According to Section 96B of Chapter 41 of the General Laws, all newly hired full-time police officers in Massachusetts are required to complete an entry-level training curriculum approved by MPTC. This training curriculum, known as the recruit officer course (ROC), is an 800-hour training program composed of 358 hours of classroom instruction and 442 hours of skill development training. The ROC is delivered in 46 lessons conducted by MPTC-certified instructors.

According to MPTC’s website,

The ROC takes 20 weeks to complete and covers 21st century policing best practices with specific emphasis on the following core principles:

• problem solving
• procedural justice
• ethical decision making
• fair and impartial policing

New recruits must also pass a physical ability test, undergo a comprehensive medical exam, maintain medical coverage throughout their time in recruit training, and have a cruiser to use for one week of training, according to MPTC regulations.

In-Service Training

In addition to completing the ROC, police officers of all statuses, including reserve and intermittent officers, are required to complete an annual in-service training curriculum developed by MPTC. Completion of this in-service training is necessary to maintain their Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission¹ certification necessary to exercise police powers.

MPTC develops in-service training topics and establishes required training hours based on legal mandates and input from its oversight board. Upon MPTC approval of the topics, MPTC staff develop the formal in-service curriculum. For the 2021–2022 training year, which coincides with the audit period, MPTC developed a nine-lesson, 30-hour in-service training program.

MPTC-Operated Police Academies

MPTC holds recruit and in-service police training at six training academies² across the Commonwealth. Within these locations, MPTC is responsible for matters related to registration and enrollment, as well as collecting tuition for recruit training. MPTC-operated police academies are directly operated by MPTC instructors and employees. MPTC-operated police academies are funded by MPTC’s annual legislative appropriation and a $3,200 tuition fee per student officer paid by the hiring police department or the officer, which is set by statute.

MPTC-Authorized Police Academies

There are 11 other police academies across the Commonwealth that are authorized by MPTC, but MPTC does not oversee their operations, applications, or tuition fees. As displayed below, MPTC-authorized police academies are staffed by contracted instructors and are often located at, and operated by, large municipalities such as Boston and Springfield; large agencies such as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; or in collaboration with municipal police departments and institutions of higher learning, such as the Cambridge Police / Northeastern University academy.

Academy Directors

All MPTC training centers are headed by an academy director who is responsible for the daily operations of the training center and ensures its compliance with all MPTC requirements, including the delivery of MPTC’s prescribed training programs. MPTC training centers are sited regionally to increase local involvement and reduce commuting and other training costs.

At the conclusion of training, the academy director must submit an After-Action Report to the MPTC director of training that provides an overview of the overall performance of the training academy. The After-Action Report includes a detailed Recruit Curriculum Training Report that lists all lessons and classroom hours delivered and requires the academy directors to certify that MPTC’s standard curriculum was delivered to all student officers by MPTC-certified instructors.

MPTC uses the Acadis Readiness Suite, a web-based law enforcement learning management system and training records database, to deliver portions of the in-service training program and to maintain and monitor all training records and requirements for all law enforcement officers throughout the Commonwealth. MPTC uses mptctraining.com to distribute lesson plans to instructors, student officers, and veteran officers.

MPTC Instructor Certification Process

All instruction at MPTC-operated and MPTC-authorized academies is required to be delivered by MPTC-certified instructors. To become an MPTC-certified instructor during the audit period, candidates had to be recommended by a police department chief or designee to MPTC, have at least three years of full-time law enforcement experience, have successfully completed MPTC’s Train the Trainer course to develop classroom teaching skills, and have completed an MPTC Instructor Development course to verify proficiency in the subjects³ they seek to instruct. Upon successful completion of the instructor training courses, the instructor candidate would apply for certification using a webform in the Acadis Training Portal. They would submit the form to the MPTC instructor certification coordinator, who would review the file and issue the instructor certification, if appropriate.

Certified instructors must remain in good standing by complying with their annual in-service training and complying with the MPTC Instructor Code of Conduct. Instructor certifications must be renewed every three years.

Exemptions and Waivers from the Recruit Officer Training Requirement

Under certain circumstances, Section 96B of Chapter 41 of the General Laws allows MPTC to exempt or waive a newly hired police officer from completing the training requirements, upon petition of their employing law enforcement department.

Under Section 3.03(1)(a) of Title 550 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR), a person appointed as a full-time law enforcement officer in Massachusetts could receive an exemption if that person completed a recruit training program “substantially equivalent or greater” to MPTC’s ROC program and has completed two years of equivalent police experience. Exemptions are typically requested when hiring an experienced law enforcement officer from another state. The law enforcement department submits the petition to MPTC and must support this petition with the following:

• a certification of graduation of basic recruit training and a curriculum listing all course titles and total hours completed in the training;
• a current résumé describing the two years of equivalent police experience;
• a current certification in CPR and first aid; and
• a current qualification in the use of firearms issued by an MPTC-certified instructor.

If granted an exemption, the officer must successfully complete the Massachusetts Police Officer Orientation Program within 90 days after the exemption is granted.

Under 550 CMR 3.03(1)(b), an employing law enforcement department can petition MPTC for a temporary waiver during a “documented public safety emergency or other exigent circumstance” to allow a reserve intermittent officer⁴ to serve as full-time officer for up to 270 days before enrolling in and attending a Massachusetts ROC academy. The temporary waiver petition must be supported by the following documentation:

• a certificate of completion from a MPTC-approved reserve / intermittent officer training program;
• a cover letter from the police chief or hiring authority citing the public safety emergency or other exigent circumstance;
• a current résumé describing the two years of equivalent police experience;
• a current certification in CPR and first aid; and
• a current qualification in the use of firearms by an MPTC-certified instructor.

After a review of the exemption or waiver petition, the MPTC Standards Subcommittee votes to recommend that MPTC grant or deny the petition. A full committee vote is then taken to grant or deny the petition.

Police Reform Legislation

Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018 directed MPTC, in consultation with EOPSS, to develop an in-service training program to train veteran police officers in the following areas:

• bias-free policing, including awareness of attitudes and stereotypes that affect law enforcement action;
• de-escalation and disengagement tactics and techniques and procedures in civilian interactions that promote community trust and confidence; and
• handling mental health emergencies and complaints involving victims, witnesses, or suspects with a mental illness or developmental disability, including strategies to reduce or prevent the risk of harm to these individuals during interactions.

Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018 also established a Municipal Police Training Fund, adding Section 35EEE to Chapter 10 of the General Laws, which authorized MPTC to collect up to $10 million annually from a $2 surcharge imposed on all vehicle rental transactions in the Commonwealth. The fund was created to provide funding for basic recruit training for new police officers, mandatory in-service training for veteran police officers, specialized training for veteran police officers and reserve and intermittent police officers, and the basic training program for reserve and intermittent police officers.

Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020 expanded Section 116 of Chapter 6 of the General Laws to require MPTC to develop specific training to address certain law enforcement issues, including the following:

• At least eight hours of recruit basic training on handling and responding to domestic and sexual violence complaints, enforcing criminal laws, and the availability of community resources to protect domestic and sexual violence victims—this training includes specific training on adolescent development, trauma, and family dynamics (Section 116A of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• “Instruction for police officers in identifying, responding to and reporting all incidents of hate crime” (Section 116B of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• At least 20 hours of recruit basic training on how to use technology for public safety—the course must include the following: computer technology, how to use the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services’ processing system, automation, data usage and system security, and mobile computing (Section 116C of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• Policies and procedures for the identification and immediate protection, care, and custody of minors whose parents or guardians are arrested or placed in custody by police officers (Section 116D of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• Bias-free policing, including awareness of attitudes and stereotypes that affect law enforcement action; practices and techniques in civilian interaction that emphasize de-escalation and disengagement tactics; handling emergencies and complaints involving victims, witnesses, or suspects with mental illness, substance use disorder, trauma history or developmental or intellectual disabilities; techniques in responding to mass gatherings or protests that emphasize de-escalation and minimizing the necessity for use of force (Section 116G of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• In consultation with experts in child and adolescent development and child trauma and educators and attorneys experienced in juvenile and education law, a program to prepare school resource officers on (1) the different legal standards regarding police interaction and arrest procedures for juveniles compared to adults, (2) child and adolescent cognitive development, (3) engagement and de-escalation tactics that are specifically effective with youth, and (4) strategies for resolving conflict and diverting youth in lieu of making an arrest (Section 116H of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• A program to train law enforcement officers “in appropriate interactions and tactics with persons on the autism spectrum and those with other intellectual and developmental disabilities”—the training requires recruits to interact with victims of or witnesses to a crime or those who have been suspected or convicted of a crime (Section 116I of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).
• In consultation with EOPSS, recruit and in-service training programs on the use and regulation of physical force (Section 116J of Chapter 6 of the General Laws)—the training is required to include the provisions of Section 14 of Chapter 6E of the General Laws, which require, in part, that law enforcement officers not use physical or deadly force unless they have attempted de-escalation tactics and those tactics have failed, prohibit the use of choke holds and other neck restraint tactics during physical interactions, prohibit an officer from discharging a firearm into or at a fleeing motor vehicle unless it is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person and that discharge is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm, and provide strategies for mass gathering and tactics to avoid and de-escalate potential conflicts at mass gatherings.
• An annual two-hour training of law enforcement officer mental wellness and suicide prevention for recruit and in-service training programs—the trainings are required to “include information on the mental health resources available . . . and shall be designed to reduce and eliminate the stigma associated with law enforcement officers receiving mental health services” (Section 116K of Chapter 6 of the General Laws).

1.    The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission is a free-standing commission created by Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020 to improve policing, enhance public confidence, and certify police officers.

2.    MPTC-operated training academies are located in Boylston, Holyoke, Lynnfield, Haverhill, Plymouth, and Randolph. 

3.    Subjects include defensive tactics, domestic violence, firearms, CPR / first responder, and patrol procedures.

4.   A reserve intermittent officer is a person appointed to a part-time position who will exercise police powers. Examples include officers who are hired on a seasonal basis or to cover temporary staffing shortages. 

Date published:	December 26, 2024