HB 206- 152nd General Assembly
House Bill 206 would overhaul the Council on Police Training, renaming it the Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. The panel has a dual role of establishing training standards for Delaware police officers and overseeing allegations of police officer misconduct and conducting hearings for possible suspensions or de-certifications. HB 206 would clarify that summaries of disciplinary panels’ decisions are public documents.
The bill would increase the number of governor-appointed public members to the commission from two to three and institute eligibility standards for them. One would be required to be a religious leader from the community who has experience with re-entry, and two members must be impacted directly or are immediate family members or caregivers of those impacted by the juvenile or adult criminal justice system. The appointees would be based upon non-binding recommendations from the NAACP, Delaware Center for Justice, and other interested nonprofit organizations.
Under the bill, no governor-appointed public member would be permitted to be a current or former member of law-enforcement or affiliated with law-enforcement.
In addition to its existing powers to suspend or revoke an officer’s certification, the commission would be able to take action in cases where an officer has been decertified in another jurisdiction or has received probation before judgment with respect to a felony or any criminal offense involving theft, fraud, or violation of the public trust, or of any drug law.
The commission also would have the authority to issue subpoenas for witnesses, documents, physical evidence or other evidence needed in connection with a hearing.