On the Job 

The objective was to reimagine police training in Ohio, from basic training through the arc of an officer’s career.

The goal was to identify outdated methods and material and put into place a more progressive, holistic, technology-based model that would better serve law enforcement officers and their communities.

Attorney General Yost’s Blue Ribbon Task Force returned seven wide-ranging recommendations, which the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission approved and immediately set into motion.
Now, a year later, all the recommendations have either been implemented or are on the verge of being implemented.

The result is a model that enhances communication skills, strengthens decision-making under stress, increases tactical skills for patrol officers, rethinks continuing professional training (CPT), rewards career-long education, and supplements officers’ knowledge of the laws and policies pertaining to firearms use.

“Training used to be static — you’d sit in a classroom as someone lectured to you,” said Tom Quinlan, executive director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy and chair of the Blue Ribbon Task Force. “We’re far more into scenario-based training now, application training — something that officers actually take out of the classroom and can apply on their next shift.

“We’re doing more with technology. We’re doing more student-led, participative training where people don’t just get talked to — they share experiences and decipher what went well and what didn’t. In short, the program we laid out in the Blue Ribbon recommendations is already having an impact.” 
Here is a summary of those recommendations and their status:

1a. Amend the Peace Officer Basic Training (POBT) curriculum to reflect contemporary police services.
Seventy-two of the 740 hours of POBT courses were deleted and replaced with courses that center on communications, critical decision-making, cognitive demands and practical applications. The new POBT curriculum, approved in late May, took effect on July 1 for the state’s 59 training academies. However, academies can request a deferral until Jan. 1 to give them time to hire instructors qualified to teach the new material and develop lesson plans.
Status: Implemented

1b. Revise the physical fitness (PT) standard needed to graduate from a basic peace officer academy.
The change allows a cadet to graduate and take the State Certification Exam even if he or she fails to meet the prescribed 100% standard required in one of the three categories of the PT final exam (situps, pushups, 1½-mile run). The exception is permitted in one category, and only if the cadet has achieved at least 75% of the progress expected in that one category. The reduced standard has been in place for a year. “Ninety-one men and women have passed under the revised PT standards and become police officers,” Quinlan said. “That’s almost 100 officers now serving Ohio communities who under the previous standard would have been forced out of the profession.” 
Status: Implemented

2. Establish certification levels to reflect an officer’s training and experience.
Many states offer progressive levels of certification to recognize officers’ continuing education, training and work experience, but until now there was just one level of certification for law enforcement officers in Ohio — basic. Consequently, a police chief with 30 years of experience would have the same certification as a new, part-time officer. OPOTA is developing an online portal so officers can document their achievements in order to apply for several newly created certification levels. The portal is being tested and will go live by the end of the year. “This isn’t mandatory,” Quinlan said, “but if you spent the time and invested in your own development, you’d want to be recognized for going the extra mile.”
Status: Portal in testing

3. Create a Tactical Patrol Officer Program.
Developed by the Ohio Tactical Officers Association in coordination with OPOTA, the program aims to enhance an officer’s ability to handle unexpected and ongoing violent criminal events. It is tailored toward field training officers and first-line supervisors, who by the nature of their jobs are best situated to impart these skills to new patrol officers. Several courses in the 80-hour Tactical Patrol Officer curriculum are being taught; others are in development and will be completed soon. To date, 51 classes have been conducted with 1,027 officers completing portions of the required 80 hours.
Status: In progress

4. Add new technologies while incorporating elements of reality-based situational decision-making scenarios into basic and advanced training.
OPOTA has made virtual reality a cornerstone of its training philosophy. So far, 12 scenario-based VR simulations have been developed, 270 VR instructors have been certified, and 160 VR headsets have been distributed to police academies and OPOTA’s six regional training partners across the state. VR training has become so popular, in fact, that many police agencies are buying their headsets and having OPOTA upload the VR simulations to them. The scenarios replicate real life encounters, in varying environments, that officers are called to resolve.
Status: Implemented and growing

5. Develop integrated lesson plans across training platforms.
Traditionally, OPOTA lesson plans focused on a single topic. Now, coursework incorporates clusters of activities commonly encountered by officers during service calls. For example, a subject-control call in the real world might require an officer to also render aid, write a report, collect and preserve evidence, and testify in court. Newly created lesson plans also include elements of supervisory activities, community perspectives, officer wellness, tactics, and policy considerations.
Status: implemented

6. Focus CPT so that it keeps advancing police services.
OPOTA surveyed peace officers about CPT and more than 2,000 responded. Respondents overwhelmingly said they wanted more training on legal issues and case law. To that end, the eight hours of mandatory courses in the 2026 CPT will include three hours on legal updates. Also included are two hours on communication training; two hours on subject and prisoner control, including guard duties and medical transports; and one hour on firearms safety, laws and policy (see below). As in years past, the CPT requirement for 2026 is 24 hours of training. Beyond the eight hours of mandatory courses, 16 hours of additional courses are required. Officers can select from a catalog of more than 1,200 courses, including VR-based courses.
Status: Implemented

7. Strengthen firearms standards and testing.
The state requires a single annual firearms qualification of 25 shots (minimum score of 20) on a prescribed target — although some agencies set higher standards. In any case, the qualification measures only how accurately officers discharge their weapons. What has been lacking is verification that an officer understands when the use of deadly force is legally permissible. Beginning in 2026, one of the eight hours of mandatory CPT courses will include an exam on laws and policies related to the use of firearms in constitutional policing, with an emphasis on the sanctity of life. The course also will address keeping firearms secure at home, in a private car and in public.
Status: Implemented