(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — To increase ease of use for law enforcement and transparency for the public, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced changes to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) training and records portal.
Most notably of the updates, the public records portion of the portal will now list the reason for a peace officer’s separation from a department to include;
- Resignation – in good standing
- Resignation – under investigation
- Resignation – in lieu of termination
- Retirement
- Retirement – under criminal investigation
- Criminal Conviction
- Termination
- Death (line of duty or other)
The change was implemented at the request of agency chiefs and county sheriffs. While this information has always been a public record, the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) voted earlier this year to include this information in the portal.
“We want Ohio to continue to set the standard for good policing,” AG Yost said. “From the time an officer first puts on their badge to when they hang it up, transparency will help keep quality cops on the streets of our communities.”
With this latest update, the officer records portion of the portal consolidates agency appointment history and includes transparency of training records. Previously only in-person trainings could be viewed through the portal. Now, all trainings including basic academy records and OPOTA advanced training completions are available to view.
“Transparency fosters trust, and these changes make it easier to build that trust,” said Morrow County Sheriff John Hinton. “Our common goal of keeping people safe is achievable when a community has confidence in its first responders.”
“Hiring can be tough, and we appreciate the streamlining of accurate information regarding officer employment history, trainings and academy information,” said Chief Dave Warrick with the Village of Strasburg Police Department. “The ease of access means our department can spend less time on hunting down details, and more time doing what our community needs.”
For law enforcement agencies, the updates will make it easier to meet their annual statutory reporting requirements for roster submissions including adding and removing officers from their employment list.
Additionally, employers will be notified if an officer enters “cease function status” for not reporting completion of the Continuing Professional Training (CPT) required of all Ohio peace officers.