It is important to have all the data available before making any policy changes that may be interpreted as lowering the standards for becoming a law enforcer in Nebraska.
By Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R), who is the Republican governor of Nebraska, has rejected a proposal to relax drug-use requirements for law enforcement officers in Nebraska. He said that it could be perceived as “watering down” standards.
A panel of state officials in charge of law enforcement had recommended this change as part a larger effort to qualify more candidates for the state training required to work in the law enforcement field.
A recruit is not allowed to have used marijuana in the last 24 months or any other dangerous drug for 5 years. Before being admitted to Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, Grand Island.
The Police Standards Advisory Council proposed lowering the standards for marijuana to 12 months and narcotics to three years.
Not “prudent”
In a letter dated July 18, Pillen rejected the proposed rule changes, saying that it wasn’t “prudent”, without any data, to make such a change. He said “a significant number of” applicants were being denied due to current drug standards.
Pillen wrote: “It’s therefore essential that we have all the data necessary before making any policy changes that could be perceived to water down the standards for becoming a law-enforcement officer in Nebraska.”
He urged Police Standards Advisory Council (PSAC) to gather the data, and if desired, resubmit the proposed rule change.
The police council will decide on Wednesday what action to take next.
Data sought
Brian Jackson, president of the Lincoln Police Department and assistant chief, has said that he, along with other members of the Lincoln Police Department Council, are looking for numbers to determine how many potential recruits were disqualified because they did not meet the current drug standards.
Jackson said that it is impossible to determine how many applicants did not apply when they learned about the drug-use requirements. However, he does know that some applicants were disqualified after applying due to current requirements.
He said that some people were disqualified because of drug standards, but others were disqualified for different reasons.
Jackson continued, “Not all ideas are good ones.”
He said there are many reasons why men and women seek to be law enforcement officers.
Police agencies in Nebraska and throughout the country are struggling to recruit new recruits despite recent increases in salaries.
The negative publicity surrounding police work is largely due to police deaths, such as George Floyd’s death from suffocation during a Minneapolis police stop.
Reuters reported that laws regarding marijuana use in the United States are being relaxed. 23 states, including Colorado and Minnesota (both close by), allow recreational pot use as of June 1.
Recruitment has improved since the ‘worst recruitment ever’
The superintendent of Nebraska State Patrol, in February, described the number of new trooper applicants as “the lowest it has ever been.”
In February, the Patrol reported that 69 state trooper posts were vacant out of a total force of 482 uniformed officers. Recently, the number of vacant posts has dropped to 60.
The Lincoln Police Department has also seen an increase in staffing, with its starting salary now at $64,000 – the highest in the State.
Last month, KOLN/KGIN, the Lincoln television station, reported that there were 27 vacancies, or 7 percent, in the Lincoln Police Department, as opposed to 40 vacancies by June 2022.
Pillen cited only the drug use standards as problematic in the proposed rule changes that were rejected by the Governor. The proposed rule changes included several other changes, though Pillen only mentioned the drug-use standards as problematic.
Other changes include allowing home school graduates to be admitted to law enforcement training, requiring that new recruits undergo psychological tests to determine their suitability for the job, and disqualifying anyone who has been convicted of using violence or threatening it.
This article was originally published by Nebraska Examiner.
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