Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and Law ...

AppendixTitle VI InformationTitle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires that “no person in the United Statesshall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, bedenied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receivingfederal financial assistance.” In response to a request from members of the GovernmentOperations Committee, we compiled information concerning the Peace Officer Standards andTraining (POST) Commission’s and the Law Enforcement Training Academy’s (LETA’s) effortsto comply with Title VI requirements.During fiscal year 2007, LETA was awarded two federal grants: a $105,390 Bryne Grant(through the Department of Finance and Administration’s Office of Criminal Justice Programs)for a subgrant to the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP) to fund training efforts;and a $25,000 Homeland Security Grant (through the state Office of Homeland Security) to fundaudio-visual equipment to be used in training. In fiscal year 2008, LETA was awarded acontinuation of the Bryne TACP grant for $105,390, as well as a $116,750 grant for the purchaseand installation of a driving simulator.According to LETA management, the academy has never developed its own Title VIplan, nor is it required to do so. When the agency was organizationally structured under theDepartment of Safety, the agency’s Title VI efforts were included in that department’s plan. Theacademy is now included in the Title VI plan of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, towhich the academy is now administratively attached. Neither LETA nor the Department ofCommerce and Insurance was able to provide specifics regarding actions taken to monitor TitleVI activities. LETA management does meet with department staff annually to discuss Title VIissues. (More detailed information regarding the Department of Commerce and Insurance’s TitleVI plan and monitoring activities will be included in the performance audit of the Department ofCommerce and Insurance, currently being conducted.) According to LETA’s director, no TitleVI complaint has been filed against LETA or the POST Commission during his tenure. Anysuch complaints would be forwarded to the department’s Title VI Coordinator for investigation.See the tables below for a breakdown of POST Commission members by gender andethnicity and a breakdown of POST Commission and LETA staff by job title, gender, andethnicity, as of September 2007.POST Commission Members by Gender and EthnicityAs of September 2007GenderEthnicityMale Female White Black HispanicPOST Commission Members 14 4 14 3 1Percent 78% 22% 77.8% 16.7% 5.5%21