Sheriff deputies across the state will be getting more law enforcement training from Penn State as a result of a recent state Supreme Court ruling giving them more power to enforce the law.
The University has been awarded a $2 million contract to deliver basic training to deputy sheriffs from all of Pennsylvania's 67 county sheriff offices from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).
Until recently, the duties of sheriff deputies in Pennsylvania were largely court-related -- providing courtroom security, processing and serving court documents, enforcing court orders and transporting criminals. Pennsylvania's sheriffs have not traditionally served as law enforcement officers. But a state Supreme Court ruling has determined that sheriff deputies can indeed enforce the law, much like their counterparts in other states where in addition to acting as officers of the court, they also provide a complete array of police services.
One provision of the court ruling was that sheriffs must now receive comparable training to the training received by other state law enforcement officers. The ruling allows sheriffs and counties to determine if they want their deputies to become more proactive in providing law enforcement.
"In Pennsylvania, if a deputy sheriff saw a violation, such as driving under the influence, and took police action the arrest was likely to be successfully challenged," Don Zettlemoyer, director of Penn State's Justice and Safety Institute, said. "This issue is important for all Pennsylvanians."
With the support from the state, the Justice and Safety Institute and The Dickinson School of Law will now provide law enforcement training for up to 600 deputies a year. The four, 15-week programs and four, three-week waive programs will focus on civil law and procedure, crime code and criminal procedure, emergency vehicle operations, legal issues, ethics, professional development and more.
The Justice and Safety Institute has a 30-year history in providing training and assessment services to federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement.
In addition to Pennsylvania-based law enforcement agencies, the institute is currently working with out of state agencies such as the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police, the El Paso County, Colo. Sheriff's Office, the Brookline, Mass. Police Department and the East Brunswick, N.J., Police Department.
For more information about the training and education, call Zettlemoyer at (814) 863-3108.