Basic Law Enforcement Academy Class Graduates Nine Students
The Miller County Sheriff’s Office graduated 9 students from a Basic Law Enforcement Academy Class that was held in Miller County.
The nine participants included officers from both the Miller County Sheriff’s Office and the Texarkana Police Department. The students attended class every Tuesday and Thursday evening, and most Saturday’s from March 1 thru May 8,
The students received instruction in all areas of law enforcement, from firearms and defensive tactics to constitutional law and accident investigation. Following the final class last night, which featured guest instructor Carlton Jones, 8th Judicial District Circuit Judge, the students participated in the swearing in ceremony.
Many of the graduates are employees of the Miller County Detention Center, and the certification as “Specialized Officers” will allow those Detention Center Officers to serve as Armed Transport Officers. Those officers are utilized to transport felony prisoners between detention facilities and for medical treatment.
Traditionally, Patrol Deputies have to be reassigned to perform those duties, but now, those certified Detention Officers can perform those functions. The training was conducted by utilizing certified instructors from the Miller County Sheriff’s Office, and a few volunteers, including Judge Jones for some specific course material.
The certification of the detention officers will result in a savings to the citizens of Miller County since no Patrol Deputies will be required to transport prisoners, and by hosting the course in-house, there were no direct costs to the Sheriff’s Office or the Miller County. Others in the class will be certified as “Reserve Officers”, which means that they will work with Full-Time patrol deputies in the field.