The Sinclair Community College Criminal Justice Training Academy offers those who enroll employment opportunities, and a chance to jumpstart their academic career.
“We are a state of Ohio program conducted at Sinclair,” Pete Willis, training coordinator said. “This is a program designed and controlled by the Ohio attorney general that all Ohio law enforcement officers must complete in order to become officers for the state.”
Willis said that no matter if the academy is at Sinclair or any other area in Ohio, the cadets all have to go through the same basic training.
Sinclair’s training academy started in 1988 and has some of the highest pass rates of any open enrollment academy in Ohio, according to Willis.
“What makes each academy different is what you add to the program,” he said. “At Sinclair, we build in extra training.”
Some of the extra training includes an English lesson on proper report writing, patrol rifle training and taser training.
“That’s really important because most people fail to realize your career is built on written reports,” he said. “The better you are at writing, the better you will be at your job.”
The academy provides those enrolled with 27 credit hours. Among those, 16 can be applied to an academic degree.
“I have some people who are using the academy as the beginning of their degree program,” he said. “And some people use it as the final — they have all the other credits they needed, now they just need this to get their Criminal Justice associate degree.”
Willis said one of the advantages of being in the training academy at Sinclair is that training gear and equipment is provided
“We take the financial burden off of a person coming into our program,” he said. “This is something that we pride ourselves on, that we take the burden off of you.”
Equipment provided for those in the program includes a gun belt, a firearm, uniforms and body armor.
Both a day and a night academy are available for students. The day academy runs from 7:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. through the week, with class on Saturdays from 7:50 to 4:30 p.m. The night is from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. weekdays, with class on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The academy is like a full-time job — you are required to be here 100 percent of the time,” Willis said. “You just can’t blow it off, if you do that you’re not going to graduate.”
Willis said during orientation those who are looking to enter are told, the academy is to be first priority. Night academy cadet Elizabeth Mote said that the best part about being in the academy is that it builds a foundation for your career.
“I think it gives you the true aspect of a law enforcement department — it gives you the real sense of brotherhood that everybody talks about,” she said. “It is more than definitely worth it to join.”
Mote also said that one of the hardest aspects of the academy is managing her time.
In order to become a cadet in the program, students must be 20 years of age by the time the academy is to start, have a valid Ohio driver’s license, have no felony or domestic violence convictions and be willing to be drug tested.
In addition, the student will go through an interview by a panel of officers and a physical fitness evaluation, according to the orientation and FAQ packet.
Day academy cadet Justin Eller said he enjoys working together with younger members.
“I like to keep the younger guys and girls motivated to bring them along,” he said. “I’m also trying to build a strong foundation for my career.”
Eller also said that one of the hardest aspects of the academy is the sense of failure.
“Because we’re a group; when someone fails, that’s on all of us,” he said. “If the person sitting by me doesn’t do his reports, all of us are going to be punished and that’s hard.”
The training academy takes 20 weeks to complete, and currently there are 20 enrolled in the day academy and 17 in the night.
“Honestly it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to know that I’ve got really dedicated people,” Willis said. “We’ve got really outstanding people willing to make a difference in the community.”
Graduates of the academy are eligible for all law enforcement agencies in the state, and Willis said 85 percent of every person who has gone through the academy has taken an oath of office.
“You’ll see things in this career that you would never see in any other one, you’ll do things that you would have never done,” he said. “Everyday it can be different — what’s not to like?”