Tennessee § 38-8-201 - Creation and purpose.

§ 38-8-201. Creation and purpose.

There is created the Jerry F. Agee Tennessee law enforcement training academy, for the purpose of training police and law enforcement officers in the methods of maintaining law enforcement services in state, municipal, county and metropolitan jurisdictions. In addition to attendance by law enforcement officers at the academy, students pursuing a degree with a major in law enforcement, criminal justice, or police science in a college or university of this state, and former members of the military who have been honorably discharged and who served a minimum of three (3) years' full-time service in the military, shall also be eligible for enrollment and training, the same as if the students and former members of the military were law enforcement officers in the academy. The students and former military members shall also meet the requirements set forth in § 38-8-106 and the standards established by the peace officer standards and training commission as required for law enforcement officers attending the academy. The academy shall also have the authority to provide specialized training to other government or private sector employees whose work impacts public safety, such as court officials, emergency services personnel, process servers, hospital personnel and employees of the criminal justice system. It is the intent of the general assembly that the training be provided at no additional cost to the state. The director of the academy shall have full discretion in scheduling any additional training sessions offered by the academy; provided, that the training of state or local governmental law enforcement employees be given priority over private employee training. Acts 1963, ch. 173, § 1; 1969, ch. 144, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1979, ch. 93, § 1; T.C.A., § 38-801; Acts 2006, ch. 659, § 1; 2016, ch. 530, § 1. Code Commission Notes. Acts 1963, ch. 173 created the Tennessee Police Training Institute. In 1965, Executive Order 24 changed the name of the institute to the Tennessee law enforcement training academy and created a five-member commission. In 1971, Executive Order 1 changed the name of the commission to the board of control. Acts 1979, ch. 93 changed the name to the Jerry F. Agee Tennessee law enforcement training academy. In 1983, Executive Order 46 (February 11, 1983) established a nine-member board of control and placed the academy under the department of safety. Compiler's Notes. For designation of department of safety as responsible for administration of academy, and establishment of board of control of academy, see Executive Order No. 46 (February 11, 1983). Amendments. The 2016 amendment in (b) inserted, “criminal justice” preceding “or police science”, inserted “, and former members of the military who have been honorably discharged and who served a minimum of three (3) years' full-time service in the military” preceding “shall also be eligible”, and substituted “the students and former members of the military” for “they” preceding “were law enforcement officers” in the first sentence and added the second sentence. Effective Dates. Acts 2016, ch. 530, § 3. February, 1, 2016. Cross-References. Registration of persons acting as law enforcement officers, § 8-8-221 .