2020 Georgia Code
Title 35 - Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies
Chapter 8 - Employment and Training of Peace Officers
- § 35-8-1. Short Title
- § 35-8-2. (For Effective Date, See note.) Definitions
- § 35-8-3. Establishment of Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council; Membership; Organization; Administrative Assignment to Department of Public Safety
- § 35-8-4. Officers of Council; Quorum; Minutes of Meetings and Records; Reports to Governor and General Assembly
- § 35-8-5. Compensation of Members of Council
- § 35-8-6. Appointment of Executive Director of Council; Contracts for Services; Personnel; Investigators; Subpoenas; Funding; Gifts, Grants, or Donations
- § 35-8-7. Powers and Duties of Council Generally
- § 35-8-7.1. Authority of Council to Refuse Certificate to Applicant or to Discipline Council Certified Officer or Exempt Officer; Grounds; Restoration of Certificate; Emergency Suspension of Certification; Notice of Investigation; Retention of Records
- § 35-8-7.2. Administrative Procedure; Hearings; Review
- § 35-8-7.3. (Effective January 1, 2021) Civil Suits by Peace Officers
- § 35-8-7.4. (Effective January 1, 2021) Bias Motivated Intimidation of First Responders; Prosecution and Penalty
- § 35-8-8. Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers and Preemployment Attendance at Basic Training Course; "Employment Related Information" Defined
- § 35-8-9. Completion of Basic Training Course Required; Acceptance of Other Instruction; Effect of Failure to Complete Basic Training Requirements; Limitation
- § 35-8-10. Applicability and Effect of Certification Requirements Generally; Requirements as to Exempt Persons
- § 35-8-11. Basic Course to Be Completed at Schools Certified by Council
- § 35-8-12. Certification to Use Speed Detection Devices; Withdrawal or Suspension of Certificate
- § 35-8-13. Training and Certification of Police Chaplains
- § 35-8-13.1. Training and Certification of Municipal Probation Officers
- § 35-8-14. Board of Corrections and State Board of Pardons and Paroles to Establish Training Program for Employees Authorized to Make Arrests
- § 35-8-15. Preparation and Maintenance of Employment Records by Law Enforcement Units and Council; Release of Records
- § 35-8-16. Effect of Standards and Training Requirements Provided in Chapter; Adoption of Additional Requirements by Law Enforcement Units
- § 35-8-17. Effect of Peace Officer's Failure to Comply With Chapter Generally; Civil Actions Against Noncomplying Peace Officers and Law Enforcement Units
- § 35-8-18. Applicability of Chapter to Emergency Peace Officers
- § 35-8-19. Appointment of Citizen of Adjoining State as Peace Officer
- § 35-8-20. Training Requirements for Police Chiefs, Department Heads, and Wardens; Effect of Failure to Fulfill Training Requirement; Waiver of Requirements
- § 35-8-20.1. Training for Police Chiefs and Department Heads Appointed After June 30, 1999; Waivers
- § 35-8-21. Training Requirements for Peace Officers; Waiver; Exemption for Retired Peace Officers; Confirmation of Training
- § 35-8-21.1. (Effective January 1, 2021) Use of Retired Peace and Correctional Officers in Emergency or Disaster; Training; Immunities; Compensation; Power of Arrest
- § 35-8-22. Reimbursement of Training Expenses by Subsequent Employer of Peace Officer; Collection Procedure; Required Documentation
- § 35-8-23. Basic Training Course for Communications Officers; Certification Requirements; Duties of Council; Rules and Regulations
- § 35-8-24. (See Editor's notes.) Training Requirements for Jail Officers and Juvenile Correctional Officers
- § 35-8-25. Training and Certification of Bomb Technicians, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians, and Animal Handlers; Intergovernmental Assistance Agreements
- § 35-8-26. (For Effective Date, See note.) Taser and Electronic Control Weapons; Requirements for Use; Establishment of Policies; Training
- § 35-8-27. Training Requirements for School Resource Officers
- Basic training courses for sheriffs, § 15-16-3.
Campus policemen generally, § 20-3-72 and T. 20, C. 8.
Conservation rangers and deputy conservation rangers, § 27-1-16 et seq.
Furnishing a copy of psychological or psychiatric evaluation to law enforcement officer upon request, § 31-33-7.
Appointment and powers of county police, T. 36, C. 8.
Powers and duties of investigators for state examining boards and office of joint-secretary, § 43-1-5.
Editor's notes.- By resolution (Ga. L. 1986, p. 1204), the General Assembly urged certain public organizations and state agencies to develop programs for the education and training of social services and criminal justice professionals in the areas of child abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation.
Administrative Rules and Regulations.- Regulations governing the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, Chapter 464-1 et seq.
Law reviews.- For article, "Symposium Protect and Serve: Perspectives on 21st Century Policing January 20, 2017: State Labor Law and Federal Police Reform," see 51 Ga. L. Rev. 1209 (2017). For article, "Symposium Protect and Serve: Perspectives on 21st Century Policing January 20, 2017: Youth/Police Encounters on Chicago's South Side: Acknowledging the Realities," see 51 Ga. L. Rev. 1079 (2017). For article, "Symposium Protect and Serve: Perspectives on 21st Century Policing January 20, 2017: Commodifying Policing: A Recipe for Community-Police Tensions," see 51 Ga. L. Rev. 1047 (2017). For article, "Symposium Protect and Serve: Perspectives on 21st Century Policing January 20, 2017: The Problematic Prosecution of an Asian American Police Officer: Notes: From a Participant in People v. Peter Liang," see 51 Ga. L. Rev. 1023 (2017). For article, "Symposium Protect and Serve: Perspectives on 21st Century Policing January 20, 2017: Keynote Address," see 51 Ga. L. Rev. 981 (2017). For article, "Missing Police Body Camera Videos: Remedies, Evidentiary Fairness, and Automatic Activation," see 52 Ga. L. Rev. 57 (2017). For article, "Assessing the Impact of Police Body Camera Evidence on the Litigation of Excessive Force Cases," see 54 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2019).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Noncompliance with conditions of Ga. L. 1970, p. 208, § 1 et seq. (see now O.C.G.A. Ch. 8, T. 35), by express terms of Ga. L. 1970, p. 208, § 15 (see now O.C.G.A. § 35-8-17), renders arrest unauthorized. The noncomplying peace officer, however, may be authorized to effect an arrest, under certain circumstances, as a private citizen. Mason v. State, 147 Ga. App. 179, 248 S.E.2d 302 (1978).
Cited in Tucker v. State, 131 Ga. App. 791, 207 S.E.2d 211 (1974); Crass v. State, 150 Ga. App. 374, 257 S.E.2d 909 (1979); Georgia Peace Officer Stds. & Training Council v. Mullis, 248 Ga. 67, 281 S.E.2d 569 (1981).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Construction with indemnification law.
- General Assembly did not intend for the requirements of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Act to be grafted onto the indemnification law, O.C.G.A. § 45-9-80 et seq. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-12.
Deputy sheriff subject to chapter.
- Deputy sheriff having responsibility for county jail and arrest power is subject to Ga. L. 1970, p. 208, § 1 et seq. (see now O.C.G.A. Ch. 8, T. 35); further, a person cannot be so employed without the certificate required by Ga. L. 1970, p. 208, § 13 (see now O.C.G.A. § 35-8-10). 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U71-128.
Person who ostensibly appears to be a law enforcement officer and who is killed while on duty, but who has not complied with the Peace Officer Standards and Training Act, is nonetheless a law enforcement officer for the purposes of state indemnification. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 83-12.
Candidate for sheriff is not affected by this chapter. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U71-110.
Park security officers not authorized or required to be peace officers.- Security officers of the North Georgia Mountains Authority are neither required nor authorized to become certified peace officers under this chapter. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 72-27 (see O.C.G.A. Ch. 8, T. 35; see also 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. 90-11).
State education board's security guards not "peace officers".- Since the State Board of Education cannot cloak the security guards it employs with a peace officer's power to make arrests, its security guards are not "peace officers" within the meaning of this chapter. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 78-3.
Campus policemen and other security personnel of University System institutions vested with the power to make arrests under O.C.G.A. § 20-3-72 are subject to the mandatory training requirements of O.C.G.A. Ch. 8, T. 35 and are consequently covered by the random drug testing provisions of O.C.G.A. § 45-20-90 et seq. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 90-11.
Use of same guards in both county correctional camps and county jails.- It is permissible under state law and the rules and regulations of the Department of Offender Rehabilitation (now Corrections) for same guards to be used to supervise inmates in both county correctional camps and county jails; however, certain practical considerations must be made concerning oaths, bonds, and this chapter. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U81-21.
Felony conviction disqualifying applicant not eliminated by pardon.- Pardon by the Board of Pardons and Paroles that relieves an individual convicted of a felony from civil and political disabilities does not eliminate such a conviction as one which would disqualify an applicant under this chapter. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 76-9.
Investigators employed by solicitor's office of juvenile court.- Investigators employed by the solicitor's office of the juvenile court may not be authorized by the solicitor to carry weapons and may not exercise the powers of a peace officer unless the individuals are certified as peace officers pursuant to O.C.G.A. Ch. 8, T. 35. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U90-22.
