TVC law enforcement academy graduation

Submitted by Scott McCrea
Phone: 455-2857
11/11/04

Thanks to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Tanana Valley Campus, the state of Alaska is about to become just a little bit safer.

TVC will be holding a graduation ceremony for its Law Enforcement Academy on Friday, November 12, at 2p.m. in the Old University Park gymnasium. The ceremony marks the closing of TVC’s seventh academy, which began in mid-August.

The academy is designed to provide students with basic police training which will enable them to receive the Alaska Police Standards Certification. The certification will make them eligible for employment with the 21 state law enforcement agencies or 43 municipal police departments within Alaska. Former Alaska State Trooper John Myers is the faculty coordinator of the program.

Thirteen students from around the state are graduating from the current academy, bringing the total number of program graduates to 133. Previous graduates are employed in public safety positions across Alaska, including Ketchikan, Saint Paul Island, Dillingham, Nome, Palmer, Bethel and Seward. The academy also provided the training for the chiefs of police in Fort Yukon, Hooper Bay, Stevens Village, Tanana and Chickaloon.

"Not only are we graduating successful students, we are also graduating diverse students,"? said Myers, who pointed out that out of this year’s class, five of the students are Alaska Native. The total number of Alaska Native students to graduate from the program since its inception is 46.

The students receive 490 hours of training and education in a wide variety of topics, including basic patrol procedures, marksmanship, arson investigation, report writing, major crime investigation, traffic accident investigation, search and seizure laws, DWI detection, domestic violence response and practical testing, cultural diversity, and survival tactics. In addition, students can receive 15 college credits for completing the academy, which can be applied towards the bachelor’s of arts degree in justice at UAF.

TVC will be starting its next academy in February 2005. For more information contact John Myers at 455-2811.

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Note to Editors/Reporters: The media is invited to attend the graduation ceremony, which will be held in the Old University Park School gymnasium on 1000 University Avenue, at 2:00p.m. on Friday, November 12. For more information contact TVC Marketing Coordinator Scott McCrea at 455-2857 or fnsjm@uaf.edu.