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, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com