CH> But that kind of employment atmosphere does have it's problems.  I
 CH> recall a town in your neck of the woods that was sued for civil rights
 CH> violations because an officer acted improperly due to lack of
 CH> training.  CHARLES HUNTER
I don't know which specific incident you are referring to, but I probably
know what the consequences will be for the town. It will break the bank in
the town, and they will no longer be able to afford their own law
enforcement. They will have to ask already overwhelmed County Deputies for
law enforcement services. The Deputy may be 40 miles away when the services
are needed.
Oklahoma has very sad and unique training requirements for police officers. A
police officer can be hired and serve as an officer for a period of up to one
year before he or she is required to receive any training at all. Oklahoma
Police Basic is only 320 hours, the last I heard, but many of the smaller
towns have a difficult time affording this. Again, many of the officers from
the smaller towns either pay their own way or stop serving as an officer
before the end of the 1 year. You heard it right, you can strap on a gun, put
a badge on your chest, and serve as an officer in Oklahoma for 1 year without
any training at all.
Lawton, Oklahoma requires the Oklahoma Basic first, a 4 week orientation
course, a 14 week on-the-job training course, and a 1 year probation period
with assorted in-service and advanced training. I just wanted to let you know
that most of the larger towns and cities do have very strict training
requirements for police officers, much greater than what the State requires.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular.
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