This page provides resources for West Virginia Law Enforcement Officers on Highway Safety Training Courses and documentation or forms used in compliance with Highway Safety-related law enforcement procedures.
The following provides a summary of available courses in occupant protection for law enforcement officers. Please note that all courses can be modified to fit your agency’s needs and time constraints. Highway Safety training will be scheduled periodically throughout the year in the various regions. Contact your regional community coordinator (Click HERE for Regional Map) or Dean Capehart for information on training in your area or to schedule training for your agency.
Law Enforcement Forms
WV DUI Information Sheet (WVSP Form 78 / DMV 314)
UPCOMING Law Enforcement Training
For a complete listing, visit the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Information System (LEPSIS)
training page.
Training options are being updated, and those updates will be reflected soon.
West Virginia's Drug Evaluation Classification (DEC) Program
Developed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), West Virginia's DEC Program provides training for law enforcement officers as Drug Recognition Experts, as well as educating prosecutors and judges in the prosecution of drugged drivers.
For information about the West Virginia Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program, click
here.
Traffic Occupant Protection Strategies (TOPS)
TOPS is an updated law enforcement course that replaces the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Occupant Protection Usage and enforcement (OPUE) course. The TOPS course covers a wide range of information addressing education reporting and enforcement issues related to occupant protection and includes the dynamics of vehicle crashes and the risks faced by law enforcement officers. It also instructs law enforcement officers how to conduct an initial evaluation of a crash scene, and how to assist in crash reconstruction. Other course modules include subjects such as “looking beyond the ticket” for criminal infractions, management of resources, public information, outreach techniques, working with community advocacy groups and the media, and air bag rescue guidelines. Course participants will also receive videotape containing 50 clips. The full course can run 2-days (7 modules), however, it can be shorter based on the number of modules selected. OUTCOME: Participants who complete this course will have the knowledge and resources to confidently provide outreach to their communities on a variety of occupant protection issues.
TOPS Curriculum Orientation Workshop
This workshop is primarily for law enforcement officers who were previously trained as OPUE instructors, and/or those with teaching/instructing experience, and/or those with interest in traffic safety, in particular occupant protection. The purpose of this workshop is to familiarize participants with the new TOPS curriculum. This workshop, developed by NHTSA Region III staff, is only offered in this Region. When all TOPS modules are reviewed, the workshop is 1½ days. OUTCOME: Participants who complete this workshop will have the knowledge, skills, and resources to provide TOPS training to their fellow officers.
Presentation of Evidence at DMV Administrative Hearings
This class is designed for law enforcement officers within West Virginia who will be involved in the administrative hearing process for the review of a DMV revocation action as the Arresting Officer for a DUI-related charge from Chapter 17C-5-2 or applicable municipal DUI ordinance. Because of the nature of the administrative hearing process within West Virginia, law enforcement officers generally appear without legal representation and as such is responsible for seeing the “state’s case” involving his DUI-related arrest is properly and fully presented. This class will provide training to the officers as to the standards of evidence at such hearings, the statutory requirements DMV is required to follow to uphold DUI-related revocations, the format of such hearings, the presentation of testimony and cross examination at administrative hearings and techniques to minimize the impact of the defense attorney at such hearings. To make the officer feel more comfortable in the presentation of DUI-related cases, there will be a mock trial to familiarize him more directly with the conduct of an administrative hearing. The course will also seek to address misconceptions that are prevalent within the State concerning such hearings by causing the officer to become more informed about the administrative hearing process.
All Highway Safety training is certified for 8-hour law enforcement training credit non-supervisory in-service.