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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Police Training

Reference Number: MTAS-238
Reviewed Date: 09/24/2021

Police Training and Salary Supplement
Officers who complete acceptable recruit training and at least 40 hours of annual training are eligible to receive a salary supplement of $800. The salary supplement shall not be used to supplant existing salaries or to substitute for normal salary increases. § 38-8-111.

Training on limits of using deadly force and on using citations in lieu of arrest is required. T.C.A. § 38-8-112, T.C.A. § 40-7-108. T.C.A. § 38-8-111(a) requires that police officers serving in the military receive their pay supplements if the military service prevented them from attending in-service training. Drivers of emergency vehicles also must receive two hours training each year in the operation of the emergency vehicle. Drivers also must pass a comprehensive examination. T.C.A. § 55-8-194.

A law enforcement officer employed directly by a judicial district drug task force is not entitled to the pay supplement for meeting the minimum certification requirements. T.C.A. § 8-7-110(a).

By a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of its governing body, a municipality or county may establish an in-service training program for "certified correctional officers," which may include a cash supplement plan. T.C.A. § 38-8-111(d).

Assistance from Law Enforcement Training Academy
The director of the state Law Enforcement Training Academy is authorized "upon the request of the chief official of any law enforcement agency of ... a municipality ... to designate one or more of the commissioned instructors at the institute to assist such agency in its law enforcement role." An instructor so designated is supervised by the agency’s chief officials and receives no compensation other than that of an instructor. T.C.A. § 38-8-207.

Additional Training Required
By July 1, 2017, or within six months of being hired as a full-time law enforcement officer, whichever is later, an officer who is assigned to the field or has investigative duties is required to complete a minimum of two hours of training on human trafficking. The TBI is required to implement the training by January 1, 2016. T.C.A. §38-6-125.