Skagit Valley College Parks Law Enforcement Academy to graduate 16 cadets
Mount Vernon, Wash. — Skagit Valley College (SVC) is pleased to announce that 16 cadets will graduate from the 30th Annual SVC’s Parks Law Enforcement Academy (PLEA) on Tuesday, December 17th, at 1:00 pm in McIntyre Hall, located on SVC’s Mount Vernon Campus.
The ceremony will include the Presentation of Colors and Flag Salute, Bellingham Pipeband Pipers led by Peter Rolstad, and the Symbolic Oath of Honor presented by Jerry Dodd, SVC Criminal Justice Program Director. Each cadet will receive his or her certificate from Rick Mossman, PLEA Commander; Jerry Dodd, Criminal Justice Program Director; Gabe Asarian, Supervisory Park Ranger with North Cascades National Park; and Darren Greeno, Executive Dean of Instruction and Workforce Education.
About the Fall 2019 PLEA class:
- There are 16 members in the class; training began August 21.
- 5% of the cadets are from Washington: (Locally, there are 2 from Mount Vernon, 1 from La Conner, and 1 from Clinton). Cadets also come from Indiana, Minnesota, and New York.
- There are 9 men and 7 women in the class; 3 are military veterans and/or reservists.
- One cadet is attending as a scholarship recipient of the Commander Overby Scholarship.
- Squad leaders are Keith Weekes (Mather District) and Ace Baker (Albright District).
About the Parks Law Enforcement Academy Curriculum:
SVC’s program is 17 weeks long, 728 hours in length, which includes 690 hours of Federal curriculum.
The balance is an infusion of Washington State curriculum, primarily state law and traffic codes.
By graduation, the cadets will have successfully passed six rigorous, Federally-administered academic tests that measure their ability to apply concepts in areas such as use of force, arrest, search and seizure, Constitutional and criminal law, authority and jurisdiction, human relations, and many other elements. They will also have engaged in a case operation which began as a scenario-based exercise, then evolved into camouflage and surveillance training, site reconnaissance, stakeout, suspect apprehension, preparing search warrants, and prosecution of the accused in a mock courtroom setting. In addition, they will have also passed a significant number of requirements in areas such as emergency vehicle operations; firearms (qualifying in semi-automatic pistols, shotguns, and patrol rifles); control and defensive tactics; interview and interrogation techniques; patrol skills; basic tactics; and physical fitness performance. They will also have had experience in many scenarios that measure their ability to perform in real-world applications of dealing with conflict management, assisting the public, and of situations they will encounter in local, state, and federal parks.
About the Academy:
The Skagit Valley College Parks Law Enforcement Academy is one of only seven programs taught at the college or university level that is approved by the National Park Service and accredited by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation Board in the United States.
SVC’s program has been in existence since 1990, with the first academy taking place in 1991. More than 1,000 cadets have graduated from the program since its first year.
While many PLEA graduates have enjoyed successful careers in local, state or National Parks, others have joined agencies across the nation, including local police departments, county sheriff’s offices, State Patrol,
US Forest Service, state and federal fish and wildlife departments, tribal police, US Customs and Border Protection, Pentagon Police, US Secret Service, and the FBI.
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