Degree: Certificate
HEGIS Code: 5505
Curriculum Code: 1827
Campus Location: City, North
Business & Public Service Division
Program Description
A partnership exists between Erie County’s Division of Criminal Justice Services and Erie Community College. This partnership is designed to operate an academy focusing on basic and in-service training for sworn area police and peace officers.
Admission to the Basic Academy mandates that the candidate be a sworn police officer affiliated with a New York State certified law enforcement agency. Graduation from this program will result in issuance of an academic New York State Department of Education/SUNY certificate and fulfill partial requirements for the graduate to work as a police officer. Credit hours earned will also transfer into traditional college programs in police science-related areas.
Applicants must have completed 30 semester credit hours of collegiate instruction (45 quarter hours) with a quality point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 system. Candidates possessing a DD-214 indicating honorable discharge from the U.S. military may be waived of this requirement.
Program Competencies
Upon graduation with the certificate in Police Basic Training, the officer will be able to:
- Qualify on the range with a variety of police-issue weapons;
- Operate a police vehicle in pursuit and rapid response situations;
- Prepare clear and concise police reports and memos;
- Understand the fundamentals of police crime-scene investigation;
- Earn certification as an EMS First-Responder;
- Attain a level of physical fitness consistent with Cooper Standards;
- Prove proficiency in arrest techniques, including use of nonlethal weapons;
- Perform patrol and traffic functions efficiently;
- Possess familiarity with New York State criminal laws (e.g. Penal Law, Code of Criminal Procedure and V&T Law)
NOTE: Unlike the traditional academic program, law enforcement academies normally operate 40 hours (Five eight-hour days) per week and observe only the major holidays. The student earns 30 semester hours of credit in a 17 to 20 week program; however, he or she has actually been exposed to between 680 and 800 clock hours of instruction, far more than a traditional student would experience if taking 30 hours of load.
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