KSCPOST Jurisdiction/Authority
We receive a fair number of questions from agencies, officers and the public about what falls under KSCPOST’s jurisdiction. Basically, what is KSCPOST able to investigate when it comes to officer misconduct?
The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards & Training is authorized by the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Act (KLETA) K.S.A. 74-5601 et seq. and Kansas Administrative Regulations (KAR) (Agency 106 et seq.) to investigate violations of the KLETA and applicable KAR’s. Full text versions of the KLETA and KAR’s can be found on our website: https://kscpost.gov/certification . The KLETA (including the KAR’s) establish the minimum requirements a person must meet to become a law enforcement officer in the State of Kansas, as well as on-going requirements and prohibitions to maintain their certification.
KSCPOST’s authority to investigate and act against an officer’s certification is very specific to what is authorized by the KLETA and KAR’s. This authority is limited to the individual officer’s law enforcement certification only. Therefore, KSCPOST cannot, nor does it have the authority to:
- Investigate law enforcement agencies, cities, or counties as an entity (general complaints about how an entity operates or conducts business)
- Conduct independent criminal investigations (criminal allegations against officers or other persons)
- Conduct investigations into agency policy/procedure violations
- Conduct or exercise authority over corrections officers, jailers, reserve (non-certified) officers, prosecutors or judges.
So, what falls under the authority and jurisdiction of KSCPOST? Per the KLETA and KAR’s, KSCPOST’s overall mission includes the following:
- Ensuring non-certified applicants meet the minimum statutory requirements for certification
- Issuing provisional certifications to applicants prior to attendance at a basic academy class
- Issuing permanent certifications to graduates of a basic academy class
- Receiving and investigating complaints against specific officers for conduct that is contrary to the KLETA/KAR’s
- Investigating the circumstances surrounding individual officers who have been terminated from an agency or resigned under questionable circumstances to determine if there is a violation of the KLETA/KAR’s
- Investigating allegations of biased based policing received from the Attorney General’s Office
- Presenting completed investigations to the Commission Investigative Committee (CIC) for review and action against the officer’s license, if warranted
To summarize, KSCPOST’s scope of authority regarding investigating officers is very narrow pursuant to the KLETA/KAR’s and is limited to violations of the KLETA/KAR’s.
KSCPOST and KORA
The Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) governs the release of records by government agencies. KORA provides very specific rules in this area and in regard to KSCPOST, some records are subject to KORA and some records are not.
Under KORA, the following officer records maintained by KSCPOST are subject to KORA and can be released under a KORA request:
- Name
- Employment history with Kansas law enforcement agencies
- Certification Status
- In-Service Training History
- Certification Actions
All other records maintained by KSCPOST are not subject to KORA and are considered confidential under KSA 74-5616(b).
KORA also provides that agencies only have to release records that are created in the normal course of business and in the format they are created or maintained…agencies do not have to create or generate “new” records based off a KORA request. This means that just because an agency maintains data in a certain format, they do not have to recreate or manipulate the data to accommodate a request for the data in a specific format or arrangement.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the KSCPOST staff. We are here as a partner and a resource for all Kansas agencies and officers.
Please continue to email your forms to us at: cpost.training@ks.gov
or you can snail mail them to:
KSCPOST
1900 E. Tigua Street Ste B
Kechi, KS 67067
Take care, take care of each other and Stay Safe!
