Fairmont State University recently welcomed the inaugural class to its Police Training Academy.
It’s no secret that police departments across the state have faced staffing shortages — in part because of cultural shifts and attitudes around law enforcement, in part because of uncompetitive pay and in part because of challenges getting officers trained. The new training program at FSU will address the third challenge (and maybe a little bit of the first, too).
Until the FSU academy opened its door, the West Virginia State Police Academy outside of Charleston was the only place officers could go to receive their certification. Without certification, cops and deputies can’t operate on their own; they have to be partnered with someone who is certified. As with any program, the State Police Academy can only take so many students at a time, creating a recruitment bottleneck. Unfortunately, this meant police departments could be forced to wait months for an open slot for their recruits.
FSU’s academy will relieve some of the pressure. It’s an intensive 16-week course, and cadets do have to live on campus. (Though the same is true of the state academy.) Its inaugural class consists of 16 officers from 10 departments, including three of Morgantown PD’s eight recently hired officers.
The extra advantage to the program at Fairmont State is that trainees can receive college credit as they work through the course, and current college students can earn credit toward their degrees while participating in the training academy.
This is where FSU’s Police Training Academy may also help with the attitudes in and about law enforcement: As the program’s director, Jeff McCormick, said, “Research has shown that police officers who have some college education generally make better decisions. They’re less likely to use force and they have fewer complaints about them.”
It’s true — we found three studies that support the argument that a college education helps make people better officers. Behind the statistics are several suppositions: a college education makes for better problem solvers and report writers, as well as for more open-minded and empathetic cops. (It’s also worth noting that officers with college degrees were promoted more often than those without.)
With all this in mind, we’re excited to see the Fairmont State University Police Training Academy get underway, and we look forward to seeing what comes from it.
