By Brendan Sherwood
The Somerset County Police Academy shares the same campus with RVCC but they operate independently.
Most college students are used to taking a liberal arts core with some electives on top of it. The Police Academy differs because it is entirely focused on making students into police officers through law enforcement-specific courses and training.
According to Academy Director Dr. Richard Celeste, much of this training is very physically demanding. Exercise is required every day in several different forms, including self-defense, nightstick training, and aquatic fitness.
What a police student does have in common with a typical RVCC student is a full course load and a lot of written homework. According to Celeste, the Academy offers courses spanning 120 topics in 13 main areas. They include law-specific courses such as Use of Force and Criminal Investigation, but also broader subjects such as Spanish and Communications. Many require written analysis as paperwork is a large part of law enforcement.
This part of the program differs from RVCC because students do not take liberal arts classes such as English or Calculus, only classes which are directly related to law enforcement. In fact, according to Celeste, the program is so time-consuming and intensive that few students could take RVCC classes if they wanted to.
The application process is entirely different from that of RVCC. According to Celeste, almost all applicants have been hired by the state government or law enforcement fields such as the police or county corrections. They apply through these agencies and the agency pays their tuition.
Alternatively, students interested in becoming police officers but who have no prior experience may apply through the Alternate Route Program. This means that they take the same program, but must pay a $4200 fee.
The program starts in January and takes six months for police and parole officer students and 12 weeks for corrections students to graduate. According to Celeste, graduating from the Academy sets students up for a career in law enforcement, as most stay in the same job for 25-30 years, with very few job changes.
Graduation is a ceremony “steeped in tradition,” with a full inspection of the candidates, bagpipes and marching. The next ceremony for police officers is Thursday, Dec. 20 in RVCC’s theater. All who are interested are welcome to attend. Graduation may also be in June for the second police program or March for the corrections program, both of which start in January.
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