BOSTON (WPRI) — The academies that train all police officers in Massachusetts need some improvement, according to a recent state audit.
The Office of the State Auditor conducted the probe into the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), looking between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022.
It found that the academies need to improve record-keeping and create a level playing field for all individuals.
“We found that in some cases they weren’t receiving sexual assault training, missing persons training,” State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said. “Those are really important things.”
The audit also found that some instructors at the academies weren’t properly trained, some were not certified, and nearly 500 officers statewide are under investigation for skipping mandatory online training.
DiZoglio added that her office also found serious issues with the preservation of training records by the MPTC.
“Files were left out on filing cabinets that they were not filed in a consistent manner in a way that they could be tracked,” DiSoglio said. “That there was not a tracking system regarding who was accessing those records.”