Focus on Education Utah Officers Head Back to School By Julie Slama Ms. Slama works in the Public Information Office of Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, Utah. More and more Utah law enforcement officers are college-bound as part of a new venture between Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and a number of Utah police departments. While the idea of officers' pursuing college degrees certainly is not unique, how many of them can say that they attended college classes held at the police station or a police training facility? On any given day, Utah citizens can see officers of all ranks walk into the department with textbooks under their arms. Law enforcement administrators recognize that the complex demands of the job dictate that officers receive as much training and education as possible. Officers themselves realize the value of learning and understanding the attitudes, views, and perspectives of others. Bringing the college classroom to the officers shows citizens an agency's commitment to law enforcement professionalism and its desire to have educated officers serving the community. Program Inception The partnership between the college and the police departments began when SLCC's criminal justice coordinator and the Sandy City police chief met to discuss the idea of bringing the college's program to the officers. The agency had an on-site classroom equipped with CD-ROMs, TV/VCR units, and other instructional technologies. With this learning environment already in place, the chief realized that very little stood in the way of implementing a program that would give officers an avenue to higher education. Sandy City's officers enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to attend college. As word of the program's success spread, five other law enforcement agencies-Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City, Murray, and the West Valley City police departments and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department-joined in the venture. | |
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