BLOOMINGTON Ind.
About 30 cadets will become part-time police officers for Indiana
University next month after
completing training that certifies IU students as law enforcement officers as
they earn their college degrees.
The Indiana University
Police Department
Police Academy
offers a 14-week summer certification program, where cadets start each weekday
at 6 a.m., running a few miles and
getting in some aerobic training before heading to classes by 8 a.m.
Eugene Barksdale, an IU student at the Gary
campus, is working toward a degree in criminal justice and is taking part in
the summer certification.
“The training is intensive, academically driven and
challenging,” he said.
In August, the cadets will start working as part-time police
officers at IU, working 12 to 20 hours a week as well as taking at least 12
university credit hours to maintain full-time student status.
Students in the academy, which has been certifying officers
since 1972, go through the certification process during their junior or senior
year in school.
“When they leave the university, they not only have
that degree, they have Indiana
law enforcement certification, and they have job experience,” said Lt.
Greg Butler, IUPD police academy director. “It makes them more marketable
and (they) perform better when they’re police officers in the community.”
Indiana does not require its law enforcement officers to
have college degrees, but Butler said it doesn’t hurt.
“Having more education helps to professionalize the
field, and make sure that they are more in tune to society,” he said.
The college degrees can come in handy later as officers move
up in rank or want to work at the federal level.
“It gets us ready for not only here, but anywhere we
want to work,” said Broc Larrison, another cadet.
Information from: The Herald-Times, https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/
– Associated Press
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