BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2285
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
Counsel: Milena Blake
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2285 (Eng) - As Amended: April 11, 2012
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : States that any peace officer trainee who knowingly
cheats, assists in cheating, or aids, abets or knowingly
conceals efforts by others to cheat on a test mandated by the
Commission on Peace Officer Training and Standards (POST) is
liable for a civil fine up to $5,000 per occurrence.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that, in addition to the above fine, any peace
officer trainee found to be cheating must reimburse POST for
the cost of reconstructing and securing tests that have been
compromised by the act of cheating, as determined by POST.
This amount is not to exceed $25,000.
2)States that any peace officer trainee found to be cheating is
disqualified from future eligibility as a peace officer in
California.
3)Requires that POST place the following in the commission's
training record for that person: "THIS PERSON IS INELGIBLE TO
BE A PEACE OFFICER IN CALIFORNIA PUSUANT TO SECTION 13510.3 OF
THE PENAL CODE."
4)Defines a "peace officer trainee" as an applicant for a basic
course examination who has not been hired by a department or
agency, and who has not been sworn as a peace officer.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all peace officers to complete an introductory course
of training prescribed by POST, demonstrated by passage of an
appropriate examination developed by POST. �Penal Code
Section 832(a).]
2)Establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Training and
AB 2285
Page 2
Standards. (Penal Code Section 13500.)
3)Empowers POST to develop and implement programs to increase
the effectiveness of law enforcement. (Penal Code Section
13503.)
4)Authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the level of
competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt rules
establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental and
moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment
of any peace officers in California. �Penal Code Section
13510(a).]
5)Requires POST to conduct research concerning job-related
educational standards and job-related selection standards to
include vision, hearing, physical ability, and emotional
stability and adopt standards supported by this research.
�Penal Code Section 13510(b).]
6)Requires POST to establish a certification program for peace
officers, which shall be considered professional certificates.
�Penal Code Section 13510.1(a).]
7)States that any person who knowingly commits any of the
following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each
offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by
both a fine and imprisonment (Penal Code Section 13510.2):
a) Presents or attempts to present as the person's own the
certificate of another;
b) Knowingly permits another to use his or her certificate;
c) Knowingly give false evidence of any material kind to
POST, or any member thereof, including the staff, in
obtaining the certificate; or,
d) Uses, or attempts to use, a canceled certificate.
8)States that any person holding a POST certificate, as
specified, is determined to be disqualified from holding
office or being employed as a peace officer, as specified,
POST shall cause the following to be entered in the
commission's training record for that person: "THIS PERSON IS
AB 2285
Page 3
INELIGIBLE TO BE A PEACE OFFICER IN CALIFORNIA PURSUANT TO
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 1029(a)." �Penal Code Section
13510.3(a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 2285 creates
a zero-tolerance for the breach of examinations administered
within POST-certified basic course academies. This
legislation will deter test compromise, hold culpable parties
accountable, and enable reimbursement for actual damages
suffered by POST. Specifically, AB 2285 would make a person
who knowingly cheats, assists in cheating, or aids, abets, or
knowingly conceals any effort by others to cheat in any manner
on a test mandate by POST, guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of not more than $5,000 per occurrence or
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or
both that fine and imprisonment. Additionally, the bill would
require the person to reimburse POST for the cost of
reconstructing and securing tests that have been compromised
by the act of cheating in an amount determined by POST, but
not to exceed $25,000. Finally, the bill would disqualify a
person convicted of cheating from future eligibility as a
police officer and would require POST to note that
disqualification in the person's training record."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"As part of its mission to enhance California law enforcement
and as a service to its stakeholders, POST develops, maintains
and disseminates high-stakes tests required to be administered
to students within the network of 40 POST certified basic
course academies. Academy students are required to pass 26
high-stakes tests that measure mastery of units of knowledge
called Learning Domains (LD) during basic training. These
tests are referred to as 'high-stakes' because failure to
successfully pass any of these tests results in the
termination of training.
"Over the past few years, POST staff has noted a steady
undercurrent of test security violations throughout the POST
academy network. These violations have ranged from minor to
major infractions identified by academy staff, brought to the
attention of POST and resolved through changes in academy
AB 2285
Page 4
policy, guidelines or procedures. Some violations were simply
honest mistakes and some were caused by unanticipated
circumstances. To the credit of the academy personnel
involved in these incidents they were promptly and adequately
resolved. Nonetheless, these incidents highlight the fact
that POST's current testing processes are antiquated and
vulnerable.
"Hence, in February 2011, POST convened the Test Task Force
Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of existing test
security procedures and policies to clarify and strengthen
security practices. One of the recommendations of this group
is to consider criminal sanctions for future violations of
test security.
"A test security breach has far-reaching implications for the
law enforcement community. The more costly damage may occur
when the honesty and integrity of a peace officer is
questioned because the officer graduated from an academy that
had a cheating scandal. This proposal is intended to
safeguard a peace officer's credibility, which is the
cornerstone of community trust, by imposing criminal sanctions
and disqualifying a person convicted of cheating from future
eligibility as a peace officer."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Milena Blake / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744