Training to protect and serve

By MAUREEN DOLAN

North Idaho College

While watching television news coverage following the bombing at the Boston Marathon a few years ago, First District Judge Clark Peterson was moved by something he witnessed.

Peterson, who spoke at the 2019 North Idaho College Basic Patrol Academy Commencement Ceremony in May, said that amid the chaos following the explosion, many people were running away from the possible danger, but there was a small group of people doing the opposite.

“You folks are the kind of people who are willing to run toward the explosion,” Peterson told the patrol academy graduates.

For the last decade, NIC and local law enforcement agencies have worked together to train newly hired officers of law enforcement agencies and students seeking employment in law enforcement. Previously, law enforcement recruits had to travel nearly seven hours by car to the Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training Academy in Meridian, in southern Idaho, to complete their training.

The Basic Patrol Academy at NIC is sanctioned and accredited by the POST council, and meets the same standards as the academy in Meridian. The curriculum at NIC is the same, but some of the training reflects a North Idaho law enforcement experience, and most of the instructors are local law enforcement officers themselves.

For example, according to Fred Swanson, the coordinator of NIC’s law enforcement program, North Idaho students receive their water safety training in cold water rather than in a warm pool.

“It’s more realistic and what they will encounter up here,” Swanson said.

NIC offers three levels of certification in law enforcement, including a Basic Technical Certificate, which is awarded at the completion of the Basic Patrol Academy. A student can continue on and earn an Intermediate Technical Certificate, and an Associate of Applied Science degree is available also.

Having a degree increases a law enforcement officer’s opportunities for advancement, Swanson said, which can lead to higher pay.

“And it shows commitment,” he said.

A degree is not a requirement for entry into work at a North Idaho law enforcement agency, but there are other requirements.

NIC Basic Patrol Academy is a selective admission program with several requirements candidates must meet prior to acceptance. A potential candidate must interview with Swanson, pass an assessment, a background check, a polygraph test, a psychological test and meet physical and medical requirements.

“I have often told applicants who are starting the process that if you have a background that is acceptable, have a good work ethic and some common sense, we can teach you the skills to do the job,” said Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, whose deputies often complete their training at NIC. “I truly believe that between the academies and the OJT (on-the-job-training) here, we can teach people to do this job.”

Local agencies frequently hire recruits and sponsor them as they go through the program, paying for the students’ training and testing. There are also self-sponsored students who pay their own way, and those students may be eligible for student financial aid.

Post Falls Police Chief Pat Knight said good people skills are a must for a police officer. An officer has to enjoy working with citizens, and be able to communicate effectively with them, Knight said. That includes people being arrested, and it’s not just about giving orders.

“You need to be able to listen to people, to explain what’s happening to them, and to hear them out, even if they go to jail,” he said.

Knight said he looks for candidates who are courteous, respectful, dependable and honest — people who are going to be a great fit for his community.

“I’m not looking for the biggest, strongest person who can kick a door down,” he said.

It’s a great benefit to local agencies, Knight said, to have a police academy here in North Idaho.

“Students are being trained by officers who work in the communities where they will serve,” he said.

And those instructors are an important ingredient in the recipe being successfully used to develop law enforcement personnel in the region.

“Some of the things we’ll probably remember most … are the personal experiences related to us by the instructors,” said Lance Hosea, student president of the patrol academy class that graduated in May.

For more information, visit nic.edu.