POLICE TRAINING SHOULD BECOME A STATE PRIORITY

Missouri is woefully deficient in its training requirements for law enforcement officers. While problems that could arise from this shortcoming don't parade themselves locally, the state has a duty to ensure that persons with police authority are adequately skilled. How Missouri has fallen behind in this area is an ~irrelevancy. Of more concern is what the state can do to resolve this inadequacy.

Missouri Attorney General William Webster is the latest to acknowledge the state's dismal 120-hour basic training requirement for law enforcement personnel. Chairing the Governor's Commission on Crime, Webster said if Missouri doubles its minimum requirements, it would still rank 50th out of 50 states in training standards. The old line is that it takes more training to get a cosmetologist's license in Missouri than to get a police badge ... and how many gun-toting cosmetologists do you see? The irony is not misplaced.

Forty-nine other states have higher training requirements than Missouri, which is 330 hours below the national average. According to 1990 figures, neighboring states far exceed Missouri in this regard: Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky require 400 hours, Arkansas 420, Kansas 320, Oklahoma 300, Nebraska 450 and Tennessee 240. That Missouri is so far off the track is remarkable.

There seems no philosophical basis for keeping these requirements low. No "official" argument thrives that training should be the obligation of local governments, though cities (including Cape Girardeau) are allowed by state law to collect a $2 training fee on local court transactions. In using this funding, Cape Girardeau's police department deserves praise for its commitment to training. The local force requires 240 hours of training above the state minimum, plus hands-on training and field training with an experienced officer. It's a substantial amount, but trainees still learn only a portion of what they need to know to protect themselves and the public. Those in law enforcement agencies only requiring the minimum won't be nearly as prepared to meet their responsibilities.

Webster and his commission are right: as a crime-fighting priority in this state, law en~forcement training should be foremost. The public deserves a higher standard, and so do the people who accept the task of upholding public safety.