Troubles can cost right to work as law enforcement officerDesMoinesRegister.com, IA
By JENNIFER JACOBS • REGISTER STAFF WRITER •
December 10, 2007
Domestic violence, sexual misconduct, theft, child molestation, assault, stalking - those are some of the reasons Iowa law enforcement officers lost their right to ever work as an officer in this state again. Thirteen officers were decertified last fiscal year and seven the year before. They can never be rehired in Iowa, according to Penny Westfall [Penny.Westfall@ilea.state.ia.us], director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy [ILEA], which has the authority to strip officers of their certification. Some of the misconduct occurred years ago... "There may be a crime from the early 1990s and someone just recently told us about it"... Names of all of Iowa's decertified officers are sent to a national database. Only 26 states contribute information, however. The database contains about 10,000 names. There are 800,000 sworn officers nationwide. "By comparison, there are only a few bad apples, but public trust is so important that any bad officer represents a serious challenge to public safety, and it is important that that information be shared," said Ray Franklin, director of the Peace Officer Certification Information System... Iowa's recently updated law states that the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council must strip an officer's certification if he or she is convicted of domestic abuse, any felony or for selling or manufacturing illegal drugs...
It is no secret this Iowa academy has serious money / funding problems. The reason for many decertifications is so that the academy can make money from NEW recruits, rather than LE agencies hiring experienced officers who were unfarily targeted in previous employment for political reasons. 45 were decertified in the 20 yrs before 2006. 20 were decertified in 06-07.
ReplyDeleteNo in the 20 years before the law enforcement community in the state of Iowa and within this academy was a good ole boys club. Penny is a female and in a position of authority. ALOT of male officers have a problem with that in itself. She has real power so she is a great big target for all of the male officers that have problems working with women. ILEA classes are full routinely and sometimes the waiting list to get in can be long.
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