UCAPD receive training courses

UCA joins 20 institutions around the state in partnering with the Criminal Justice Institute which provides law enforcement officers with specialized and management training courses.
The two areas available for any certified police officer to specialize in are Law Enforcement Administration and Crime Scene Investigation as of this spring 2012 semester. The officers will be able to obtain a Certificate of Proficiency, a Technical Certificate or an Associate of Applied Science degree with general education courses depending on the path they wish to follow.
Larry James, chief of the UCAPD, said he believes that Law Enforcement Administration will be a more popular choice among officers compared to Crime Scene Investigation.
“The Crime Scene Investigation is much more specialized and it will be popular amongst some officers who are detectives and investigators,” James said.
The CJI provides work-related training for all law enforcement agencies for free.             Over the years, the institute started a higher education degree program to give course credit for the training officers go through. Other two and four-year colleges participating in the coalition include University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Pulaski Technical College, Arkansas State University at Beebe and others.
According to James, the institution provides supervisory training, management training, DWI enforcement, narcotics enforcement and advanced training in forensic fields.
“If officers want to, they can apply through the Criminal Justice Institute and through their local sponsoring higher education institution and take a course credit along with general education courses at their own cost and make it into an Associate of Applied Science degree,” James said.
The officers must earn 63 credits in order to receive an Associate’s degree in Law Enforcement. The CJI requires 36 credit hours in courses such as Racial Profiling, Civil Process and Identity Theft while an institution requires 27 hours in general education courses such as speech and English. The Certificate of Proficiency and the Technical Certificate would have to make part of this degree.
The officers are required to earn 62 credits to receive a degree in Crime Scene Investigation. Courses like Bloodstain Pattern Documentation and Shooting Scene Investigation are required by CJI.
The College of Business will accommodate the CJI Higher Education program.
Mike Casey, associate dean of the College of Business, said the officers would have to apply to UCA admissions and be admitted on the same criteria as regular students.
“They have to be active law enforcement. I got a number of calls from people that are inactive wanting to participate,” Casey said. “They are not eligible.”
Casey said the number of officers who have applied to receive the credit from UCA is unknown since the application process begins at CJI.
James has been sending officers to CJI to receive training since 1993.
“During work-time, I send people to the CJI to take training courses,” James said. “It frees more off-duty time to take general education courses. It’s a convenience deal. It gives officers credit for training they do take that before they never got credit for.”
The program gives officers the opportunity to use credits toward a baccalaureate degree.
Casey said it offers them a mechanism to advance in a profession.
“It’s a natural fit for the College of Business because we train managers and these are managers of law enforcement,” he said. “It gives them the credentials they need to appropriately advance and reward them for their hard work.”
UCAPD Director of Organizational and Community Services Arch Jones said James has always encouraged police officers to pursue higher education.
“He encourages them to go toward a business degree or public administration,” Jones said.