About POST
It is the mission of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) to provide the citizens of Georgia with qualified, professionally trained, ethical and competent peace officers and criminal justice professionals.
The Georgia POST Council administers the regulatory process, sets the standards for training and certification, and provides essential technical assistance to the law enforcement community.
The Georgia POST Council provides the highest degree of excellence in public safety service and eliminates unqualified individuals from the law enforcement profession.
The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) was established in 1970 by the Georgia General Assembly as a regulatory body. The composition of the Council, its power, and function is established in Title 35 Chapter 8 of the Official Code of Georgia, Annotated. The Council is responsible for the certification and regulation of Georgia’s peace officers and other various public safety personnel. Additionally, POST is responsible for establishing the minimum training standards and curriculum of the personnel certified by the agency.
The POST Council consists of twenty-two (22) voting members and a number of advisory members and meets quarterly. Members of the Council are appointed from state, county and local law enforcement agencies, professional associations, and from the peace officer population. The Council members serve the peace officers and citizens of this state without compensation.
Organizationally, the POST staff is composed of an Executive Office and three (3) divisions:
Certification and Training Division;
Operations Division; and
The Council’s rules and policies are executed by a professional and clerical staff which operates under the supervision of the Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the administration of a statewide program involving over 40,000 officers actively employed by over 900 agencies.
The Georgia Peace Officer
By statutory definition, a peace officer is any person who is vested expressly either by law or by virtue of public employment or service with authority to enforce the criminal or traffic laws through power of arrest and whose duties include the preservation of public order, the protection of life and property, and the prevention, detection or investigation of crimes.
State officers such as the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Georgia Department of Corrections, deputy sheriffs, county police, municipal police, and campus police are a few of the many examples of peace officers. Additionally, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council also has a statutory responsibility to certify non-peace officers such as communications officers and detention officers.
Before POST will certify a candidate as a peace officer, the candidate must meet certain minimum standards for employment. These requirements are outlined in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated 35-8-8.