Title 38, Prevention And Detection Of Crime

(a) Requirements for minimum standards as set forth in this part or as required by the commission shall be mandatory and binding upon any municipality, county or political subdivision of this state. (b) Any person who appoints any applicant, who, to the knowledge of the appointer…

(1) Any person employed as a full-time police officer, and any person employed or utilized as a part-time, temporary, reserve or auxiliary police officer or as a special deputy, shall:(1) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;(2) Be a citizen of the United States, or a permanent…

(a) The commission shall issue a certificate of compliance to any person who meets the qualifications for employment and satisfactorily completes an approved recruit training program. All officers employed on and after July 1, 2017, must:(1) Enroll in an approved recruit training…

The commission may accept, for any of its purposes and functions under this chapter, any and all donations of property, real, personal or mixed, and grants of money from any governmental unit or public agency, or from any institution, person, firm or corporation. Such moneys shal…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude an employing agency from establishing qualifications and standards for hiring and training police officers that exceed those set by the commission.

This chapter does not apply to any elected officers or to any employees of the state of Tennessee, except that this chapter applies to sheriffs under § 38-8-111.

(a) (1) An eligible local unit of government that requires all police officers to complete an in-service training course each calendar year appropriate to the officer's rank and responsibility and the size and location of the officer's department, of at least forty (40) hours dur…

The curriculum requirements of the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission established by this part shall include materials concerning the use of citations in lieu of arrest and domestic violence training and proper procedures to respond to persons with mental i…

Use of a choke hold, with or without the use of a police baton, must be taught to candidates at state law enforcement training facilities as a method of restraint to be used only if the officer reasonably believes that deadly force is authorized pursuant to § 39-11-620.

The commission shall encourage the use of community policing by establishing six (6) pilot programs for communities across the state. The commission shall establish two (2) pilot programs in each of the three (3) grand divisions with a reasonable distribution between urban and ru…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Safe Neighborhoods Act of 1998.” (b) By October 1, 1998, the department of finance and administration shall establish within the department a program to award state law enforcement assistance grants to local governmental ag…

(a) All law enforcement agencies are allowed to open their shooting ranges for public use when such ranges are not being used by law enforcement personnel. The law enforcement agency in charge of a shooting range may establish reasonable regulations for the use of the firing rang…

(a) The course of training leading to the basic certificate of compliance issued by the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission pursuant to § 38-8-107, may include a course of instruction in animal behavior generally and canine behavior specifically. (b) The cou…

(a) (1) A resort area owner or management company may employ one (1) or more persons to act as private special deputies, in order to provide on-site security and law enforcement capability for residents and guests of the resort area and for resort area property.(2) An independent…

All police officers shall annually be provided with training in proper procedures to respond to persons with mental illnesses.

A memorandum of understanding may be entered into between a chief of a law enforcement agency and a local education agency to provide school policing.

A law enforcement officer may substitute a maximum of forty (40) hours of successfully completed training in school policing for regular continuing education hours.

A law enforcement officer may substitute a maximum of forty (40) hours of successfully completed training in courthouse security for regular continuing education hours.

(a) The Tennessee POST commission shall determine a retired officer's eligibility to carry a firearm under federal law as provided in this section. (b) (1) In addition to the identification or certificate required by § 38-8-116(d), the applicant shall be required to submit an app…

(a) In addition to any other penalty prescribed by law, where an applicant for POST certification knowingly includes false or misleading information on an application concerning the applicant's qualifications, experience, training or criminal history, the applicant shall be denie…

(a) “Human sample” means a cheek swab, blood or urine sample, saliva, hair or any other bodily fluid or exemplar from which the DNA of the donor may be derived and identified and for which a law enforcement officer would be required to seek a search warrant to obtain such sample.…

(a) (1) An officer certified under this part who is arrested for any offense shall notify the executive secretary of the commission of the arrest and the chief officer of the employing law enforcement agency or their designee within twenty-four (24) hours of the time the arrest w…

(a) The state shall offer a reward for information leading to the arrest of any individual responsible for the shooting of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. The reward shall be in the following amount:(1) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) if the law enforcement officer …

(1) By January 1, 2022, each law enforcement agency shall develop a policy regarding de-escalation. Each agency shall provide training to officers on de-escalation techniques, including, but not limited to:(1) Verbal de-escalation and the effective delivery of verbal instructions…

(a) A law enforcement officer who directly observes or has knowledge of excessive use of force by another law enforcement officer in violation of state or federal law shall, within the officer's scope of training, knowledge, and authority, intervene when the officer has an opport…

By January 1, 2022, each law enforcement agency shall develop a policy that limits the circumstances under which an officer may discharge a firearm at or from a moving vehicle, motorcycle, or bicycle to when the officer reasonably believes that deadly force is authorized as provi…

(a) By January 1, 2022, each law enforcement agency shall establish a use of force reporting system that allows for the agency to effectively review and analyze all use of force incidents. (b) The reporting system must be designed to help the agency identify trends, improve offic…

(a) Each law enforcement officer specifically assigned to the traffic division of a local law enforcement agency or its equivalent, or for whom a county sheriff or chief of police deems it necessary, shall undergo training on the proper testing procedures for use in investigating…

A local governmental entity may enter into a contract with an entity working on the megasite, as defined in § 64-9-103, for the provision of security services at the megasite.

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Drone” has the same meaning as defined in § 39-13-609; and(2) “Law enforcement agency” has the same meaning as defined in § 39-13-609. (1) “Drone” has the same meaning as defined in § 39-13-609; and (2) “Law enforcement agency” has the same meanin…

(a) The Tennessee peace officer standards and training (POST) commission shall adopt guidelines and materials instructing law enforcement officers on the best practices for recognizing and responding to a medical crisis involving a person under arrest or under the care or supervi…

(a) Decorations or medals from the armed forces of the United States, the Tennessee national guard, or the state guard, or any service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, may be worn by uniformed law enforcement personnel during the week prior to Veterans Day …

(a) 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. (b) In addition to…

(a) The state building commission is authorized and empowered to acquire a site or sites and to construct a suitable building or buildings for conducting the programs of the academy. (b) The commission is authorized to accept from any agency or department of state or local govern…

(a) The police and law enforcement programs offered through the academy shall be under the jurisdiction of such agency or agencies of the state of Tennessee as the governor shall designate by executive order. The commissioner of the agency appointed pursuant to executive order sh…

(a) The agency designated by the governor to operate the academy, through its duly appointed representative, is authorized to enter into such contract or contracts with state, municipal, county or metropolitan law enforcement officials as may be necessary in order to carry out th…

The agency designated by the governor to operate the academy, through its duly appointed representative, is authorized to expend such funds as may be appropriated by the general assembly and allotted by the commissioner of finance and administration for the purposes of this chapt…

In the establishment and operation of the academy, the state building commission and the designated agency for operation shall consult and advise with both state and local law enforcement officials, including, but not limited to, the departments of safety and correction, the wild…

(a) It is the policy of this section to provide continuing on the job experience for instructors of the academy so that the instructors are made continually aware of the problems of and procedures within law enforcement agencies. (b) The commissioner of commerce and insurance may…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Committee” means a police advisory and review committee;(2) “Head of a law enforcement agency” means a chief of police of a municipal police force or a county sheriff, as applicable;(3) “Internal affairs unit” m…

(1) Whenever an investigation by an agency focuses on matters that are likely to lead to the dismissal, demotion, suspension or transfer for punitive reasons of a police officer, the following conditions shall be complied with:(1) Any questioning of the officer shall take place a…

No police officer shall be required or requested to disclose any item of property, income, assets, source of income, debts, or personal or domestic expenditures, including those of any member of the officer's family or household, unless such information is necessary in investigat…

(1) Before any dismissal, demotion, suspension without pay or transfer for punitive reasons may be imposed, the following must be complied with:(1) The police officer shall be notified in writing of all charges, the basis for the charges, and the action that may be taken;(2) The …

(a) A police officer who is dismissed, demoted, suspended or transferred for punitive reasons, may within a reasonable amount of time following such action, as set by the officer's agency, request a hearing. If such request is made in a timely manner, a hearing shall be held with…

Nothing in this part shall prevent the immediate suspension without pay of any police officer whose continued presence on the job is deemed to be a substantial and immediate threat to the welfare of the officer's agency or the public, nor shall anything in this part prevent the s…

Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit the informal counseling of a police officer by a supervisor in reference to a minor infraction of policy or procedure that does not result in disciplinary action being taken against the police officer.