New law tightens sheriff, deputy training requirements
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Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law new requirements for certifying sheriffs and deputy sheriffs through training and continuing education.
The Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association worked in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Local Government Commission, the County Commissioners’ Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to see that the bill was enacted.
The Sheriffs’ Association of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, based in Harrisburg, called the new law “an ongoing effort to provide added professionalism to the office of sheriff.”
Act 114 provides training, waiver training and continuing education for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs throughout the state. This training will be provided at no cost to taxpayers, but instead is funded by part of the fees collected by sheriffs’ offices on legal documents they serve. The legislation recently signed into law amends a 1984 act.
“There was a time in Pennsylvania when many of the individuals elected to the office of sheriff had no law enforcement background, but that simply isn’t the case anymore,” said Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Bob Wollyung. “Now, all but a handful of sheriffs are either former deputies or police officers, former chiefs of police or former members of the state police. This legislation recognizes those changes.”
Washington County Sheriff Sam Romano said in a statement he and other Pennsylvania sheriffs welcome the new law.
“This office alone has the majority of our deputies certified through Act 120, which covers Municipal Police Academy training, and all the deputies are certified through the Deputy Sheriffs’ Education and Training Act.
“As executive director Bob Wollyung stated, most elected sheriffs are presently certified law enforcement officers with strong backgrounds, as opposed to the time when the sheriff was an elected official with no experience but rather a popular figure in the community who generated the most votes to win the position.
“As a result, the experienced sheriffs are finding ways to obtain grants, and we are educating our deputies at no cost to the taxpayers to be more effective in the workplace.
“As the sheriff of Washington County, I find this a rewarding benefit to our department, as well as sheriffs’ departments across the state. This will benefit all communities.”