Audit of the Municipal Police Training Committee (December 26, 2024)

This is a state performance audit of the Municipal Police Training Committee, the agency responsible for setting and managing police training standards in Massachusetts, covering January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.”

Auditors checked whether MPTC carried out required police reform trainings, made sure academies used a standard curriculum, and properly handled exemptions or waivers from training rules.

“The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:”

If police recruits do not all receive the same required training, officers may leave academies with uneven preparation, which can affect public safety, officer safety, and local government risk.

“This may lead to inconsistent law enforcement practices, which may jeopardize the safety of the public and police officers because law enforcement officers may not be properly equipped to perform their jobs safely and effectively.”

For an ordinary resident, the key issue is whether police officers across Massachusetts are being trained consistently in the skills and standards the state says are important for safe and effective policing.

“By not delivering a standardized training curriculum, MPTC provides inadequate assurance that all police officers in the Commonwealth have been exposed to the concepts, skills, and tactics that have been determined to be critical for effective policing by the law and MPTC.”

The auditors found three main problems: inconsistent recruit academy curriculum, some lessons taught by uncertified instructors, and an outdated internal control plan.

“MPTC’s internal control plan (ICP) was not updated annually in accordance with the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s (CTR’s) “Internal Control Guide,” published May, 2022, and did not address the effects of COVID-19 on its operations (when its workforce and training were remote, with controlled access to the building and remote functions in the business office) in accordance with the CTR’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance,” issued September 30, 2020.”

The report recommends that MPTC strengthen policies, monitoring, reporting, instructor checks, and annual internal-control updates; MPTC said it has begun putting new procedures and electronic forms in place.

“MPTC should establish policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, to ensure that its ICP is updated annually and when significant changes occur.”

The audit is significant because MPTC’s training responsibilities affect more than 23,000 law enforcement and related personnel across Massachusetts, so weaknesses in oversight can have statewide impact.

“The MPTC’s mandate and mission is to set the police training standards for all law enforcement officers certified by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (“POST”), and to develop, deliver, and maintain a record of that training for over 23,000 police officers (municipal, [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority], environmental, campus, hospitals), deputy sheriffs, harbormasters, constables, and other statutorily defined personnel who perform police duties and functions in the Commonwealth.”

The recruit officer course is the basic academy program for new full-time police officers in Massachusetts: 800 hours total, split between classroom instruction and skill training.

“This training curriculum, known as the recruit officer course (ROC), is an 800-hour training program composed of 358 hours of classroom instruction and 442 hours of skill development training.”