Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
A component of the Utah Acadis Online portal is for agencies to report training hours for officers and dispatchers to maintain their certification. These hours are recorded to fulfill the statutory requirement of completing training as a component to keep peace officer or dispatcher certifications active. In-Service training hours shall be reported only through the Utah Acadis Online Portal by authorized agency representatives. Hours submitted via any other form will not be accepted.
What is the timeline?
The training year is defined by the annual fiscal year cycle of July 1st to June 30th. All training shall be submitted on or before June 30th of each year. The agencies are given a grace period of 30 days to reconcile records and resolve any discrepancies. This grace period is for reconciling of records and not making original submissions.
All agencies must complete the reporting and audit period before August 1st annually. On August 1st, all active peace officers and certified dispatchers who have not met the training requirement will have their certification suspended until the training deficiency has been resolved. On October 1st, any peace officer or certified dispatcher who has not resolved the training deficiency will be reported to Utah Retirement Systems for an adjustment of retirement benefits. Any peace officer without making up the deficiency within 18 months must complete the reactivation process to restore certification eligibility.
What should be reported to POST?
Only courses conducted by the agency should be reported. If an officer or certified dispatcher completes a POST-sponsored course, this is automatically recorded. Submitting the training again will result in a duplication of records. The agency is responsible for maintaining the details of the training reported to POST, including dates, training hours, the curriculum used, and instructor information.
What courses are eligible to meet the requirements?
Any POST-sponsored course (online or in-person) is eligible to satisfy the annual training requirement. Any other course will need to be approved by the employing chief administrative officer. POST does not endorse or sponsor vendor-provided training; it is at the discretion of the chief administrative officer to determine the validity of the course.
Do I enter POST-sponsored courses?
No, POST-sponsored courses are already credited to the peace officer or dispatcher. Any duplicate entry from the agency will not be approved.
What is the minimum training requirement?
The minimum training requirement for peace officers is 40 hours. For dispatchers who are POST-certified, the requirement is 20 hours. The reporting of hours annually and active employment renews the certification for one more year. If an officer is retiring and intends to resign from peace officer status, there is no training requirement in the final year of service. However, if the officer or dispatcher returns to service, the deficiency must be satisfied before certification is renewed.
What about active duty military employees who are deployed?
There is an exception to the minimum training requirement for U.S. military deployments. The deployments must be under U.S. Military Orders. Private contract deployment is not eligible. To receive a waiver for military deployment, the waiver form must be completed by the employing agency and submitted to POST no later than July 31st.
See the Military Waiver section for more information.
What about partial-year employment for an employee?
Effective July 1, 2021, there is no waiver of training for an employee who was only an active part of the year.
- If the individual worked in the training year (July 1 – June 30), they must meet the full requirements before the peace officer status becomes active.
- If the individual did not work in the training year, they do not have a training requirement for that year and may become active.
What about an employee who is on medical leave?
There is an exception to the minimum training requirement for short-term or long-term medical leave employees. This policy allows those who cannot participate in any form of training, including watching videos, online content, and reading, to receive a training requirement waiver. To receive a waiver for medical leave, the waiver form must be completed by the employing agency along with a physician’s note stating no training is possible under the current medical condition, and the form is to be submitted to POST no later than July 31st.
See the Medical Waiver section for more information.
What if the employee on military or medical leave is deficient?
If the employee is on current deployment or currently on medical, no action will be taken on the certification. However, the hours must be made up before returning to functioning as a peace officer or dispatcher. Once the deficient hours are completed, notify POST to restore the employee’s peace officer status.
An employee graduated from the academy or completed the waiver/reactivation in the training year. Do they need to fulfill the requirements?
Completion of a basic training course, or successful completion of the waiver/reactivation process, administratively waives the training requirement for that fiscal year.
What about reporting hours for employees who have separated from our agency during the training year?
It is important to submit hours to POST for completed training hours during the year, but for those who are no longer employed by the agency. This will affect the employees’ certification status if they have become employed with another agency, or will in the future. Even though they are unemployed from your agency, you can still enter hours for them by searching by last name and first initial, or by POST ID.
How do agencies get access to report training?
Access to the agency portions of the Utah Online Portal is limited to those authorized by their respective chief, sheriff, or administrative officer as having authority on the agency’s behalf. The chief administrative officer for each agency can designate employees for this access. Individual persons are not allowed to self-report training. To gain access, email support@utapost.org with your name, agency, and email contact for your chief administrative officer. An electronic form will be sent to the chief administrative officer, digitally signing the authorization into the portal.
Can an officer or dispatcher self-report training hours?
No, reporting of hours is only accepted through an authorized agency. It is the responsibility of the chief administrative officer to approve the training and house the records. Therefore, self-reporting is not allowed.
Is there a limit to how many times an agency can report hours?
No. There is no limit to the number of submissions. Hours for agency-specific training can be summarized into a single entry titled “##Insert Agency Name## Annual Training ##Insert Training Year##. Training that qualifies for the categories De-Escalation, Arrest Control, Crisis Intervention/Mental Health, Autism training, must include a specific training title, description, date training occurred, and the number of hours to be credited.
How do I know who is deficient?
From the personnel tab, you can view and download a report of hours obtained by your employees. Each officer is issued a certificate titled “POST Annual Training Requirement” that expires 06/30/2022. Upon successful completion of all the requirements, this certificate of completion is automatically renewed to 06/30/2023. From the Acadis portal, agencies can view from the compliance dropdown those officers who have not met the requirements for the year.
Where do I go to report the training?
Agency training coordinators and authorized agency administrators can report the training on the Acadis portal*. Self-reporting of training by officers or dispatchers is not allowed. (Please note that this link, noted with an asterisk* will direct you to an external website.)
I have a question that was not answered.
You can email the POST support system at support@utahpost.org or call (801) 256-2300 during normal business hours, and we will be happy to answer any other questions.
Last updated 22 September, 2024