After the hiring process is completed, the first thing that occurs for a new agent is, if not already peace officer certified in Ohio, he/she must attend and successfully complete a Basic Peace Officers training course. The training is usually at either the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London, Ohio or at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy in Columbus, Ohio. Agents stay at the academy Monday through Friday and are off on weekends. This training is 18 weeks in length. After completing this training, an agent reports to the Investigative Unit Central Office in Columbus for four more weeks of in-house training. During this time, agents stay in a local motel or make their own living arrangements.
If the new agent is already a certified police officer, he/she will start directly in the in-house training program. An agent is assigned a vehicle to drive the day he/she is hired. The probationary period for a new agent is one year.
After the in-house orientation training, an agent is assigned to a district in the state to complete 14 weeks of a field-training program. During this time, the probationary agent will be assigned to agents who have been trained to assist the probationary agent in learning everything necessary for him/her to become a successful agent. This training assignment could be anywhere in the state and not necessarily in the district that an agent will be permanently assigned to. This means that an agent could be living in a motel for the entire field training period. An agent going through basic peace officer training, in-house orientation training and field training could conceivably be away from home and family, except on days off, for nine months. All costs associated with all phases of training to include meals and housing is paid for by the state. |
