• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • LAPD officers arrest man in Hollywood for criminal threats, prevent...
        Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
        Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
        “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
        California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
    • Labor
      • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
        Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
        San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
        Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
        Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
    • Tech
      • Scott City police dispatchers use new technology to livestream...
        NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
        NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
        Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
        West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
    • Training
      • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
        Running your patrol rifle like a champion
        Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
        Defensive tactics
        Mechanics, consistency and aggression
    • Policy
      • Iowa House proposes legislation to criminalize ransomware
        Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
        Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
        President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
        California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
    • Health/Wellness
      • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
        Coping with internal investigation or legal action
        The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
        What officers love, hope and worry about
        Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
    • Community
      • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
        Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
        North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
        “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
        Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
    • Offbeat
      • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
        Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
        Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
        “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
        “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
    • We Remember
      • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
        Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
        Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
        At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • On the Job
    • LAPD officers arrest man in Hollywood for criminal threats, prevent...
      Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
      Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
      “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
      California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
  • Labor
    • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
      Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
      San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
      Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
      Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
  • Tech
    • Scott City police dispatchers use new technology to livestream...
      NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
      NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
      Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
      West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
  • Training
    • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
      Running your patrol rifle like a champion
      Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
      Defensive tactics
      Mechanics, consistency and aggression
  • Policy
    • Iowa House proposes legislation to criminalize ransomware
      Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
      Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
      President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
      California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
  • Health/Wellness
    • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
      Coping with internal investigation or legal action
      The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
      What officers love, hope and worry about
      Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
  • Community
    • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
      Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
      North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
      “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
      Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
  • Offbeat
    • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
      Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
      Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
      “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
      “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
  • We Remember
    • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
      Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
      Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
      At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Tech

Colorado creates police officer database to improve public transparency

APB Team Published February 15, 2022 @ 12:21 pm PST

iStock.com/fizkes

Colorado has recently launched a website that grants the public access to a database of information on police officers, including their certification and employment status, in an effort to boost accountability and transparency.

The website is home to a database managed by the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST). It allows members of the public to search for any police officer in the state to view their certification status and whether they were convicted of a crime or charged with prior misconduct.

POST Board Chair and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the database would ensure that an officer who has been previously fired for misconduct will not be hired again.

“When law enforcement officers do things that are wrong, they could commit crimes, and they get decertified, we put them on a publicly available database. Anyone can search it,” Weiser explained. “When other officers are fired for cause, for having done something that’s wrong, they are also on this list, so they don’t get hired unwittingly again.”

The database was created following police reform legislation in 2020 and 2021 to make officers’ certification, compliance with training requirements and employment status transparent to the public.

Officer actions and behaviors that can be listed on the database, according to the POST website, include “untruthfulness”; three breaches of POST training requirements within 10 years; revocation of POST certification; any termination for cause; resignation or retirement while under investigation for misconduct or after an incident that leads to an investigation within the next six months; and being the subject of any criminal investigation.

Weiser said the database would improve transparency along with other reform measures adopted by the state, such as requirements for the use of body-worn cameras by police officers.

“Colorado has passed legislation not just to build this transparent database, but to provide body cams in all cases, so we know what’s happening. Then, when an officer is accused, it’s not a matter of ‘believe me or don’t believe me,’ it’s let’s look. Sunlight is the best of disinfectants,” Weiser told KOAA.

Officers can request a review of their database entries and have information removed after presenting new evidence through a request process.

Weiser said all officers are notified of changes to their profile on the database.

“They get notice. They have a right to be heard. We have a process to consider all these decertification actions, and officers can come forward and tell their side of the story,” he said.

According to a statement by the attorney general’s office, the database will be updated monthly. Because it relies on information submitted by individual law enforcement agencies, the database may not be wholly inaccurate.

Categories: Tech Tags: accountability, misconduct, police officer database, certification, Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, Phil Weiser, Attorney General, transparency, Police Reform, Colorado

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Scott City police dispatchers use new technology to livestream emergency calls in real time
  • LAPD officers arrest man in Hollywood for criminal threats, prevent possible mass shooting
  • Iowa House proposes legislation to criminalize ransomware
  • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite activist opposition
  • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
  • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
  • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
  • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths in 2022; morgue running out of space for bodies
  • NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on marked patrol vehicle
  • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost recruiting and diversity

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.