7-32-303. Peace officer employment, education, and certification standards -- suspension or revocation -- penalty. (1) For purposes of this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "peace officer" means a deputy sheriff, undersheriff, police officer, highway patrol officer, fish and game warden, park ranger, campus security officer, or airport police officer.
     (2) No sheriff of a county, mayor of a city, board, commission, or other person authorized by law to appoint peace officers in this state shall appoint any person as a peace officer who does not meet the following qualifications plus any additional qualifying standards for employment promulgated by the board of crime control:
     (a) be a citizen of the United States;
     (b) be at least 18 years of age;
     (c) be fingerprinted and a search made of the local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record;
     (d) not have been convicted of a crime for which the person could have been imprisoned in a federal or state penitentiary;
     (e) be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation;
     (f) be a high school graduate or have passed the general education development test and have been issued an equivalency certificate by the superintendent of public instruction or by an appropriate issuing agency of another state or of the federal government;
     (g) be examined by a licensed physician, who is not the applicant's personal physician, appointed by the employing authority to determine if the applicant is free from any mental or physical condition that might adversely affect performance by the applicant of the duties of a peace officer;
     (h) successfully complete an oral examination conducted by the appointing authority or its designated representative to demonstrate the possession of communication skills, temperament, motivation, and other characteristics necessary to the accomplishment of the duties and functions of a peace officer; and
     (i) possess or be eligible for a valid Montana driver's license.
     (3) At the time of appointment a peace officer shall take a formal oath of office.
     (4) Within 10 days of the appointment, termination, resignation, or death of any peace officer, written notice thereof must be given to the board of crime control by the employing authority.
     (5) (a) Except as provided in subsections (5)(b) and (5)(c), it is the duty of an appointing authority to cause each peace officer appointed under its authority to attend and successfully complete, within 1 year of the initial appointment, an appropriate peace officer basic course certified by the board of crime control. Any peace officer appointed after September 30, 1983, who fails to meet the minimum requirements as set forth in subsection (2) or who fails to complete the basic course as required by this subsection (a) forfeits the position, authority, and arrest powers accorded a peace officer in this state.
     (b) A peace officer who has been issued a basic certificate by the board of crime control and whose last date of employment as a peace officer was less than 36 months prior to the date of the person's present appointment as a peace officer is not required to fulfill the basic educational requirements of subsection (5)(a). If the peace officer's last date of employment as a peace officer was 36 or more but less than 60 months prior to the date of present employment as a peace officer, the peace officer may satisfy the basic educational requirements as set forth in subsection (5)(c).
     (c) A peace officer under the provisions of subsection (5)(b) or a peace officer who has completed a basic peace officer's course in another state and whose last date of employment as a peace officer was less than 60 months prior to the date of present appointment as a peace officer may, within 1 year of the peace officer's present employment or initial appointment as a peace officer within this state, satisfy the basic educational requirements by successfully passing a basic equivalency test administered by the Montana law enforcement academy and successfully completing a legal training course conducted by the academy. If the peace officer fails the basic equivalency test, the peace officer shall complete the basic course within 120 days of the date of the test.
     (6) The board of crime control may extend the 1-year time requirements of subsections (5)(a) and (5)(c) upon the written application of the peace officer and the appointing authority of the officer. The application must explain the circumstances that make the extension necessary. Factors that the board may consider in granting or denying the extension include but are not limited to illness of the peace officer or a member of the peace officer's immediate family, absence of reasonable access to the basic course or the legal training course, and an unreasonable shortage of personnel within the department. The board may not grant an extension to exceed 180 days.
     (7) A peace officer who has successfully met the employment standards and qualifications and the educational requirements of this section and who has completed a 1-year probationary term of employment must, upon application to the board of crime control, be issued a basic certificate by the board, certifying that the peace officer has met all the basic qualifying peace officer standards of this state.
     (8) It is unlawful for a person whose certification as a peace officer, detention officer, or detention center administrator has been revoked or suspended by the board of crime control to act as a peace officer, detention officer, or detention center administrator. A person convicted of violating this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed 6 months in the county jail or by a fine not to exceed $500, or both.

     History: En. Sec. 4598, Pol. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 3124, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 4879, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 4879, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 257, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 66, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 81, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 62, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 188, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 16-3705(part); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 191, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 714, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 217, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 662, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 437, L. 1993.