Description of Issue:
During the last 14 fiscal years (FY10-FY23), the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training
Board (AZPOST) experienced significant declines in revenue, which resulted in the necessity to
revamp the way in which AZPOST addressed training, and compliance needs for Arizona law
enforcement. Although funding is still below 2010 levels, the shift in business strategy and
process has allowed AZPOST to meet the minimum needs of Arizona peace officers.
The reduction in Criminal Justice Enhancement Funds (CJEF) is the reason for the decline in
funding for AZPOST, as it was the primary funding source. In an effort to combat the decline in
funding, the Arizona State Legislature passed Laws 2022, Chapter 311 (HB2860) which
removed AZPOST from CJEF and passed Laws 2022, Chapter 313 (HB2862) which provided
for a $6,100,000 appropriation from the State General Fund for FY23. Although this amount was
less than the expected annual operating cost, AZPOST utilized the CJEF-funded Peace Officer
Training Fund (POTF/PS2049) carryover realized through position vacancies and other cost
savings measures to make up the difference.
The FY24 appropriation was also $6,100,000 and AZPOST once again utilized remaining POTF
funds to make up the difference (this amount does not include the $476,000 in recruit housing
costs previously awarded to AZPOST in error).
Recruiting, hiring, training, and retaining peace officers is becoming increasingly difficult. In
FY23, most agencies in the state had peace officer vacancies that they were working to fill.
There are a finite number of academy slots for new recruits, which compounds the vacancy
problem. Further exacerbating the problem, agencies are faced with housing and per diem
costs when sending recruits away from home for training. The $2,500 per successful graduate
reimbursed by AZPOST, to the host academy, is a small amount compared to the total cost of
basic peace officer training. However, academies would be negatively impacted by a loss of
this funding through a reduction in the number of officers they were able to accept into their
academy classes.
Arizona Administrative Title 13, Chapter 4 outlines the responsibilities of AZPOST as it relates
to the compliance aspect of peace officer certification. Currently, AZPOST has a deputy
director, ten compliance specialists, and two assistant attorney generals handling a substantial
misconduct caseload, 257 in FY23. Due process for the involved peace officer is paramount but
consumes a significant amount of labor. Often, it can take more than two years for a case to be
resolved.
In addition to misconduct cases, the compliance specialists are responsible for new hire audits
and training audits for the 159 agencies in the State, which employ peace officers. In FY 23,
they conducted 1,634 new hire audits and 1901 training audits.
Proposal
AZPOST proposes a budget that will utilize appropriated funds along with carry over POTF
funds. AZPOST requests appropriated funding of $6,541,600 (this amount does not include the
$476,000 in recruit housing costs previously awarded to AZPOST in error). This amount will
cover salary and ERE for all employees, overtime, staff travel, academy reimbursements, and
the reimbursement to the Attorney General’s Office for legal support. The POTF funds will be
utilized for operating expenses and equipment. AZPOST will be able to use this funding model