Clark State College has extended the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ohio Attorney General to serve as an Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) Regional Training Provider for another two years.
“Our regional training program offers curriculum to current law enforcement officers who wish to pursue opportunities to instruct other officers within their agencies and/or police academies in their communities,” said Karen Benton, interim assistant dean for Clark State’s School of Health, Human and Public services. “The participants are individuals who are seeking certifications in specific law enforcement areas of concentration. We appreciate that we have been entrusted to provide quality education to officers who wish to enhance their skills and knowledge and/or wish to have this serve as a foundation to instruct at police academies.”
Clark State was one of five regional training centers selected in Ohio in 2022. OPOTA advanced training courses offered by the Regional Training Provider are listed as OPOTA courses in the OPOTAs Portal online catalog, and student registration for the courses occurs through OPOTAs Portal.
An OPOTA Advanced Training Course is a course post Basic Training. Students are eligible to enroll in an Advanced Training Course after successfully completing Basic Training and receiving a certification of completion or if the student is otherwise approved to enroll in the Advanced Training Course by OPOTA
Upon successful completion of an Advanced Training course, students receive an OPOTA certificate, and a record of the training will appear in the student’s official OPOTA transcript.
Over the last year, OPOTA trainings held at Clark State included two 2-week instructor courses, two 1-week firearm instructor courses, two traffic stop training courses, two physical trainer instructor courses and a pepper spray instructor course.
Clark State also offers training in first line supervisor, field training officer, physical fitness instructor, an additional two-week instructor course, and additional firearm training courses for the remainder of 2023.
Student demographics included officers from all over Ohio.
“Students were very satisfied with the courses they attended at the Clark State Regional Training,” said Paul Weber, Commander of the Clark State Basic Peace Officer Training Academy. “They expressed that the instructors had a wealth of knowledge with the topics taught, and they created a relaxed atmosphere that allowed for a better learning environment.”
The Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy houses both Commission and Academy staff. Commission staff oversees training requirements and curriculum for peace officers, private security, local corrections, jail personnel, K-9 units, and humane agents. Commission staff also teach firearms programs for public defender investigators, bailiffs, probation officers, and parole officers and oversee the certification standards of peace officers. Academy staff provide instruction in basic, advanced and technical subjects for the Ohio law enforcement community using the latest research and recommended professional practices.
“Clark State Offers state-of-the-art equipment,” said Weber. “We have highly skilled troopers, deputies, and police officers with on-the-job experiences ranging from eight years to over 30 years in law enforcement.”