CAPE POLICE LIEUTENANT TRAINS AT FBI ACADEMY

When Cape Girardeau police Lt. Randy Roddy graduated from the FBI National Academy program at Quantico, Va., on Sept. 24, he joined the ranks of all the other lieutenants, the captain and the chief of his department.

"I wanted to attend the academy since Capt. (Stephen) Strong graduated several years ago," Roddy said. "I had pretty well forgotten about it until they asked me this year if I still wanted to go."

The 11-week program is held at the FBI headquarters, but is very different than the training FBI and DEA cadets go through before becoming federal agents.

Law enforcement personnel from 47 states and 18 countries made up the 256 students during Roddy's session. The FBI National Academy consists of 11 weeks of advanced investigative, management and fitness training for selected officers, who have a proven record as a professional within their agencies.

The academy is held four times a year. Roddy was offered the opportunity to attend when his department's number came up at the FBI field office in St. Louis, which is allotted three slots per academy.

"I had heard a lot about the National Academy and was expecting a great deal when I went," Roddy said. "I was not disappointed -- it was everything I hoped it would be and more."

While attending the academy, Roddy roomed with a state police officer from Australia.

"One of the many benefits of the academy was the opportunity to talk to all these officers from virtually everywhere," Roddy said.

"My whole career is based on university studies and the Cape Girardeau Police Department," he said. "But in talking to people from other places, you can get a lot of different ideas about the kinds of things they do and how they do it."

Roddy, who worked in the traffic division of the police department for 9 of his 15 years in law enforcement, selected classes at the academy which supplemented his knowledge of police procedure.

"I picked areas that I was weak in and that I knew would help me in the future," Roddy said.

Classes Roddy chose to attend included death investigations, forensic science, legal issues, major case management, planning and budgeting and one on instructor development.

All officers who attended the National Academy were required to take a physical training course, which was a combination of health and nutrition guidance and actual physical fitness.

"There were a lot of other physical activities available to us while we were there," Roddy said.

But Roddy and the other officers attending the academy spent a great deal of their time working on papers, projects and other homework assignment from their classes, which took up about seven hours a day, five days a week.

A majority of the instructors in Roddy's classes were FBI Special Agents who were certified through the University of Virginia to teach at the academy.

"So not only were these people qualified to teach, they had the street experience to back up much of what they were telling us," Roddy said. "Being at the FBI Academy, the instructors also had access to all of the research going on there and the most up to date information."

Upon graduation, Roddy received 17 hours of college credit through the University of Virginia. The entire 11 weeks was paid for by the FBI, with the exception of the gym outfit and special uniform Roddy and the other officers were required to wear during classes, which was paid by the police department.

"Really the only drawback was the time away from home and my family," Roddy said. "They were very understanding, though."

Roddy hopes to spread some of the information he gained at the academy around the police station and in his teachings at the police academy at Southeast Missouri State University.

"The training I received at the National Academy was excellent," Roddy said. "But it's good to be home."