Cal. Code Regs. tit. 11 § 1950

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 45, November 8, 2024

Section 1950 - Peace Officer Selection Requirements

(a) Peace Officer Selection Requirements

The purpose of these regulations is to implement the minimum peace officer selection standards set forth in California Government Code sections 1029, 1031 and 1031.4, and as authorized by California Penal Code section 13510. Peace officer training requirements are addressed separately in Commission Regulations 1005 and 1007. All POST documents and forms mentioned in these regulations are available on the POST website (www.post.ca.gov).

(1) Every POST-participating department and/or agency (hereinafter referred to as "department") shall ensure that every "peace officer candidate", as defined in subsection 1950(b), satisfies all minimum selection requirements specified in the following regulations unless waived by the Commission on a case by case basis. Statutory requirements in these regulations cannot be waived by the Commission.

* Reading and Writing Ability Assessment (Commission Regulation 1951)

* Oral Interview (Commission Regulation 1952)

* Background Investigation (Commission Regulation 1953)

* Medical Evaluation (Commission Regulation 1954)

* Psychological Evaluation (Commission Regulation 1955)

(2) All requirements specified in these regulations shall be satisfied prior to the date of employment. For purposes of these regulations, "date of employment" is defined as date of appointment as a peace officer or, at the department's discretion, the date the candidate is hired as a trainee and enrolled in a POST-certified basic course.

(b) Peace Officer Candidate Definition

For purposes of these regulations, a "peace officer candidate" is any individual, regardless of rank or Penal Code classification, who applies for a peace officer position with a POST-participating department, regardless of the individual's prior law enforcement experience either at that department or at a different department within the same city, county, state or district.

(c) Exceptions

For purposes of these regulations, peace officers described in this section are not considered "candidates" and are therefore exempted from Commission Regulations 1951-1955.

(1) The department has sole responsibility for determining what, if any, assessments are necessary for a peace officer who:

(A) Changes peace officer classifications, such as from reserve officer to regular officer, within the same POST-participating department if documentation is available for inspection verifying that all current minimum selection requirements were previously met, and the peace officer has worked continuously for the department since the time of initial appointment.

(B) Is employed by a department that, through reorganization, is merged with another department within the same city, county, state or district, if documentation is available for inspection verifying that the officer was hired in accordance with the POST requirements in effect at the time of hire.

(C) Is reappointed to the same POST-participating department within 180 days of voluntary separation.

(2) For a peace officer who has been mandatorily reinstated, the department shall:

(A) Report the reinstatement to POST in accordance with Commission Regulation 1003(b)(2);

(B) Resubmit the officer's fingerprints to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to verify legal eligibility for a peace officer position (California Government Code sections 1029 and 1030) and to determine eligibility to possess a firearm [Penal Code section 29805 and U.S. Code Title 18 section 922(d)(9)]. Fingerprints do not need to be resubmitted if the officer was never removed from the department's peace officer files of the DOJ or FBI;

(C) Perform a records check of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (California Vehicle Code section 12500);

(D) Verify qualification for appointment as a peace officer (Government Code section 1029).

(3) Publicly elected peace officers are exempted from Commission Regulations 1951-1955.

(d) Adoption of Additional Requirements and/or Higher Standards The requirements described herein serve as minimum selection requirements. Per Government Code section 1031(g) and Penal Code section 13510(d), the adoption of more rigorous requirements, higher standards, additional assessments and/or more in-depth evaluations than those stated in these regulations is at the discretion of the employing department.

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 11, § 1950

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1029, 1030, 1031 and 1031.4, Government Code; and Sections 13503, 13506 and 13510, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 1029, 1030, 1031, 1031.4 and 12900 et seq., Government Code; Section 12500, Vehicle Code; Sections 29805 and 13510, Penal Code; and Title 18 Section 922(d)(9), US Code.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 1029, 1030, 1031 and 1031.4; and Sections 13503, 13506 and 13510, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 1029, 1030, 1031, 1031.4 and 12900 et seq., Government Code; Section 12500, Vehicle Code; Sections 29805 and 13510, Penal Code; and Title 18 Section 922(d)(9), US Code.

1. Change without regulatory effect renumbering former section 9050 to new section 1950, including amendment of section and N ote, filed 11-26-2012 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2012, No. 48).
2. Amendment of subsection (a)(2) filed 12-12-2013; operative 4-1-2014 (Register 2013, No. 50).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (a), (c)(2)(A) and (d) filed 12-9-2015 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2015, No. 50).
4. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (c)(2)(A) filed 8/2/2016 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2016, No. 32).
5. New subsection (c)(1)(C) filed 10-31-2016; operative 1/1/2017 (Register 2016, No. 45).
6. Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-63-20 (2019 CA EO 63-20), dated May 7, 2020, which extended certain timeframes related to the reemployment of former peace officers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. Amendment of subsections (a)(1), (c) and (c)(3) filed 10-15-2021; operative 1/1/2022 (Register 2021, No. 42). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20.
8. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a), adopting new subsection (c)(2)(E) and amending Note filed 12-30-2021 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations; operative 1/1/2022 (Register 2021, No. 53).
9. Change without regulatory effect adopting article 5 heading (sections 1950-1960) filed 3-9-2022 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2022, No. 10).
10. Change without regulatory effect amending Note filed 1-4-2023 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2023, No. 1).
11. Amendment of subsection (c)(2)(A), repealer of subsection (c)(2)(C), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (c)(2)(C)-(D) and amendment of NOTE filed 8-29-2023; operative 8/29/2023 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2023, No. 35).
12. Amendment of subsection (c)(2)(A) filed 2-6-2024; operative 2/6/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2024, No. 6).