DPSST Stakeholder Update - April 22, 2020

Completion of Basic Police Class #397: BP397 had completed 12 weeks of the 16-week Basic Police Course when the decision was made to close the Oregon Public Safety Academy campus on March 17^th. The BP397 students are missing nearly four weeks of Basic training (approximately 148 hours). These hours include a number of training elements and competencies that are required by law and rule in order to successfully complete the Basic Police Course, including pursuit training, the final exam, the final project, and ORPAT (if not previously completed). In addition, a number of skills programs have 8+ hours of training left to provide (vehicle stops, EVOC, firearms, DTs and ConSim), as well as 4 hours of mock trial and SFST/DUII training. 

We have developed a feasible plan in consultation with affected agency administrators that will allow the BP397 students to return to the Academy and complete their remaining training.

The health and safety of the returning students and our staff/instructors is and will remain our highest priority. Every portion of the training schedule will respect the Governor’s Executive Orders and the established best practices. The class will be split into two or more groups of not more than 20 to allow for social distancing at all times. (None of the training delivered will involve close contact activities that cannot accommodate social distancing.) Students requiring dorm accommodations will be placed into single-occupancy rooms and a rigorous cleaning/sanitation schedule will be implemented to ensure all venues used are thoroughly cleaned multiple times a day to further mitigate risk. Upon its finalization, the training safety plan will be made publicly available and will be shared with the Oregon Health Authority and the Governor’s Office.

The returning BP397 students will report to the Academy on Monday, 5/11 to resume class on Tuesday, 5/12. The Course is scheduled to conclude on 6/3. The completion of the other Basic classes that were suspended mid-course, and the start dates of future classes remains to be determined.

 

Emergency Coordination Center (ECC): The Office of Emergency Management’s ECC has been transferred to the Oregon Public Safety Academy campus. This shift in operations is temporary, though the end date is not known at this time. Operations span from the Hall of Heroes, Campus Cafeteria, DT building, Boardroom and all C-Building classrooms. ECC staff/operations are and will remain segregated from DPSST staff and students. The ECC’s presence will not impact the training or accommodations of the BP397 students.

 

Pending Classes/Student Registrations: Below are the numbers of students registered for upcoming classes as of April 16^th. (Note: This list does not include BP397, BP398, BP399 or BCL041 which were in session on the date the Academy closed.) We aren’t seeing a tremendous amount of hiring, which we can attribute to the unknown financial impact of the COVID crisis on communities around the state. As mentioned above, the start date of these classes in unknown at this time. That information will be shared the moment it becomes available.

BP 400 = 39 (This class was on Day 2 at the time of closure.)

BP 401 = 40 (1 on waitlist)

BP 402 = 38

BP 403 = 2

BP 404 = 4

Waiting to be registered = 2

 

BCL042 = 39

BCL043 = 16

Waiting to be registered = 3

 

BPP81 = 20

BPP82 = 7

APP01 = 15

APP01 = 9

Waiting to be registered = 5

 

BT118 = 26

BT119 = 25

BT120 = 8

EMD79 = 10

EMD80 = 5

Waiting to be registered = 15

 

Board on Public Safety Standards and Training: The Board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting via video/teleconference at 9:00 am tomorrow (4/23). The agenda of the meeting can be found here: https://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/BD/Pages/Agenda.aspx. This meeting will be live-streamed on DPSST’s Facebook page.

 

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As always, thank you all for your continued patience, flexibility and support. We will continue to use this platform to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about DPSST’s operations and our plans for continuing to meet our agency’s mission. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns that are not being addressed, or if there is any other way we can be of assistance.

Stay safe,

Linsay Hale

Professional Standards/Interim Training Division Director

DPSST