Buckeye Reporter

Ohio is set to implement significant changes to its law enforcement training, with a new curriculum being introduced in July 2025. This overhaul aims to address modern-day policing challenges and enhance the skills of peace officers.

Attorney General Dave Yost, who oversees the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC), emphasized the importance of this initiative. “We’re giving Ohio’s peace officers what they need to do their job — real-world tools and the training to handle the toughest calls,” he stated. Yost described these changes as a substantial investment in the future of policing in Ohio.

The updated curriculum stems from recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Future of Police Training, which was established by Yost in 2023. The new curriculum will be mandatory for all academies starting January 1, 2026.

Currently, cadets must complete at least 740 hours of training under OPOTC standards. However, the task force identified that some courses did not provide sufficient value. As a result, 72 hours of outdated material will be replaced with practical training focused on current law enforcement needs. New courses include active shooter response, critical decision-making, crisis mitigation and de-escalation, communications and mediation, and incident debriefs.

Additional components include Blue Courage (16 hours) as a post-graduation offering and First Aid, CPR, AED (8 hours) as an online prerequisite. Other offerings are ICS/NIMS (8 hours) online prerequisite and NHTSA Speed Measuring Device (40 hours) as a post-graduation elective.

Recognizing recruitment challenges, the task force also revised graduation fitness standards after OPOTC's approval in May 2024. While entry-level standards remain unchanged, cadets can now graduate if they pass two out of three fitness test components while achieving at least 75% progress in the third component. This adjustment has resulted in 91 additional cadet graduations over the past year.

Yost commented on these updates: “Updating Ohio’s standards ensures we align with today’s job demands—allowing us to strengthen the force, better reflect our communities, and increase the number of qualified officers on the streets without compromising integrity or readiness.”