The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 20, 1980, Image 21

The Battalion., March 20, 1980, Image 21

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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1980)

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Newspaper Page Textnic|ui Jt the state re- tas peace offic- Dr the Burleson ice. )nt, Santos orking with the riff’s Offices in ' the last year ez had been a 3 and one half City. He must a Texas police some type of I Bill Cooksey, >ecialist at the ize some out- s and require jqualifying, but iminal and traf- ndatory.” bought it was :k through the I. leed to learn i though most ilar to what I nt to school, ated,” Alvarez Jge of tear gas f the 240-hour go through at i the history of irst aid, motor it investigation 1981, the state nal 40 hours of : law enforce- stigation. ie when there rcement train- s provided by said Cooksey, sran. cement, all the as ‘on-the-job’ of the Texas I Enforcement nation in 1954, ewide curricu- all peace offic- omplete within six months after they are hired. The state also requires one year’s experience on the job for officers to receive their basic certification, but the state does not require an officer to go higher than basic certification. Within most departments, offic ers are sent to advanced classes after serving with the department for some time. Lt. John Kennedy of the College Station Police Department said they send officers through various schools depending on when the classes are offered and what the department can afford. Advanced training can be in areas such as photography, leader ship management or advanced firearms training. Both the Bryan College Station police departments requalify their officers in the use of firearms once a year, even though the state does not require it. Kennedy and Knowles both said they would like to qualify their men more often, but it takes about 10,000 rounds of ammunition for each man and that is more money than is in the budget. Kennedy said a plan that would qualify College Station’s officers twice a year in shotguns and off- duty weapons is in the works. At the training school, all the in structors are former law enforce ment officers. Ira Scott, division head of the school, said, “We re quire that they (instructors) have five years experience and we prefer up to 10 years experience.’’ “We want them to be able to re late their experiences as well as what they learned from the book.” The school, the oldest police training school in Texas, is located on the Old Bryan Air Force Base on Highway 21. Classes are held in one of the old frame buildings in cramped quarters. The school will be moving to a new building being built at the Ex tension Center sometime in April, Scott said. They will be sharing the building with the Texas Transportation Insti- tute. The police academy will occupy 13,000 square feet on the west side of the building, Scott said. There will be seven classrooms as well as an office and a full photo graphic lab. The polygraph school will also be moved into the new building. Attorney Roland Searcy lectures on investigative procedures to a class at the Texas A&M Law Enforcement and Security Training School. Handcuffs are oneof the many types of security equipment that cadets must learn to handle effectively at the school.