12 NCAC 10B .1402          ELIGIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATES

(a)  In order to be eligible for one or more of the professional certificates, a reserve deputy sheriff shall first meet the following preliminary qualifications:

(1)           be an appointed reserve deputy sheriff who holds a valid general or grandfather certification as defined in G.S. 17E-7(a). A reserve deputy sheriff serving under a probationary certification is not eligible for consideration.

(2)           any reserve deputy sheriff subject to suspension or revocation proceedings, under investigation for possible decertification action, under a period of active revocation of their certification, or under probation or suspended sanction, by the Commission or the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, shall not be eligible for any professional certificates for the pendency of the proceedings or period of probation, suspension, or revocation;

(3)           meet and maintain the requirements of certification pursuant to Rule .0301 and Section .0500 of this Subchapter;

(4)           the applicant shall be a sworn law enforcement officer, as defined in Rule .0103(19) of this Subchapter, of a North Carolina sheriff's office.

(b)  Only training or experience gained in an officer's area of expertise, as described in Paragraph (c) of this Rule, shall be eligible for application to this program.

(c)  Certificates shall be awarded based upon a formula that combines law enforcement training and experience as a reserve deputy sheriff in a law enforcement position, as defined in Rule .0103(19) of this Subchapter. Points are computed in the following manner:

(1)           a minimum of 96 hours worked as a reserve deputy sheriff over a one-year period shall equal one year of reserve service;

(2)           20 hours of law enforcement training shall equal one training point; and

(3)           service as a reserve deputy sheriff in a sworn law enforcement position, as defined in Rule .0103(19) of this Subchapter. An officer who is otherwise ineligible to receive an equivalent certificate through the Professional Certificate Program for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, as set out in Section .1000 of this Subchapter, may receive a certificate under this program. One year of full-time service may be substituted for one year of reserve service in computing eligibility under this Section.

(d)  In addition to the qualifications set forth in Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Rule, applicants for the Intermediate Reserve Deputy Sheriff Professional Certificate shall have acquired the following law enforcement training points and years of service as a reserve law enforcement officer:

(1)           8 years of reserve officer law enforcement experience; and

(2)           35 minimum law enforcement training points.

(e)  In addition to the qualifications set forth in Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Rule, applicants for the Advanced Deputy Sheriff Professional Certificate shall possess or be eligible to possess the Intermediate Reserve Deputy Sheriff Professional Certificate and shall have acquired the following law enforcement training points and years of service as a reserve law enforcement officer:

(1)           12 years of reserve officer law enforcement experience; and

(2)           50 minimum law enforcement training points.

(f)  No more than 160 hours of training obtained by completing an accredited basic law enforcement training program required to serve in a sworn law enforcement position, as defined in Rule .0103(19) of this Subchapter, shall be credited toward training points for the Intermediate or Advanced Reserve Deputy Sheriff Professional Certificate.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 17E-4

Eff. August 1, 2000;

Amended Eff. January 1, 2006;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. March 6, 2018;

Amended Eff. December 1, 2025.