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IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE
Peace Officers Standards and Training, 700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642
(208) 884-7250
For Immediate Release: 12/18/19 8:30 AM
Please direct questions to Tecia Ferguson, PIO 208-884-7122
Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training is celebrating 50 years of outstanding service to law enforcement and the citizens of Idaho. The event will be held Tuesday, January 7th at 10:30 AM at the Gymnasium in the POST Administration Building (Building 3) on the Meridian campus of the Idaho State Police (ISP). During the ceremony, Governor Brad Little will announce January 7th, as Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Day and recognize the valuable contribution POST has made to public safety in Idaho.
Established in 1969, POST has been providing quality basic training to law enforcement officers from throughout the State of Idaho since 1970, when the first basic academy class of 32 officers spent four weeks training on the ISU campus in Pocatello. Training standards for law enforcement officers were later mandated by the Idaho Legislature in 1974, and since then officers from every state and local law enforcement agency in Idaho have completed some type of law enforcement training at the POST Academy.
"The goal was to create an organization that would provide basic and in-service training for police officers in the State of Idaho", explained current POST Administrator Brad Johnson. "50 years later, our vision remains as relevant and important as ever: to develop skilled law enforcement professionals who are committed to serving and protecting the people in Idaho."
Co-located with the ISP Headquarters in Meridian, POST now provides basic and in-service training in nine law enforcement disciplines as directed by the legislature, and under the guidance and oversight of the POST Council, appointed by the Governor. These include Patrol Officer, Detention Officer, Emergency Communications Officer, Felony Probation and Parole Officer, Misdemeanor Probation Officer, Correction Officer, Juvenile Detention Officer, Juvenile Probation Officer and Juvenile Correction Officer.
Since it was established in 1969, POST has:
Provided basic academy training to over 14,000 law enforcement officers from around the state.
Expanded from providing basic training to police officers, to providing basic and/or in-service training to a total of nine law enforcement disciplines.
Expanded from three basic academy sessions per year in 1970 to a total of 19 basic academy sessions across all disciplines in 2019.
Added support and assistance to the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association (IPAA), providing ongoing professional development for Prosecuting Attorneys throughout the state.
"As we recognize and honor our past, and where it has brought us, we must dedicate ourselves to continue our evolution; to address new challenges in the pursuit of excellence. Above all, we must be the standard by which all other professional organizations are judged, as we relentlessly pursue our overarching goal: to be the best, most innovative and respected POST training and certification program in the country", Johnson said.
Additional anniversary events are planned at POST throughout the year and will be announced as they are scheduled.
