PUBLIC SAFETY CHIEF PREDICTS MANY CHANGES; STACY P. SIMS AWARD GIVEN AT CEREMONY

Five years ago, the mandatory police training standards in Missouri not only were the worst in the U.S., they were among the lowest in the world. Thanks to legislated minimum standards, the establishment of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and new continuing education requirements, Missouri's officer training standards now rank among the top 25 states.

"This job's going to continue to change," Gary B. Kempker told the 29 graduates of the Southeast Law Enforcement Academy's 480-hour basic training class Friday night.

"... And it's not going to get any easier."

Kempker, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said the job once was more physical than mental. But today's law enforcement officers must be problem solvers and "street corner criminologists," he said.

The job requires training but something more," Kempker told the 300 parents and family members who had come from all over Southeast Missouri to witness the ceremony.

"The basic requirement doesn't come from the academy -- it comes from the parents," he said.

He called police work "the proudest profession in the United States today."

Travis Sargent of Greenville received the academy's first Stacy P. Sims Achievement Award, named for the late DEA agent who succumbed to cancer last month at age 31. Sims was a criminal justice graduate of Southeast who later worked for the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force before joining the DEA.

Sargent was recognized for exhibiting the qualities of hard work, courage, loyalty, dedication, common sense and initiative epitomized by Sims, Special Agent Herman Hogue of the DEA said.

Sargent wants to become a trooper with the Missouri Highway Patrol. His brother, Russ, served with Sims in the patrol.

John Decker, who has already accepted a position with the Poplar Bluff Police Department, was recognized for academic achievement and firearms proficiency.

Kempker became the director of the department in 1995. He oversees a number of state divisions, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Fire Safety, the Gaming Commission, the National Guard and the State Emergency Management Agency.

He previously was the police chief in Jefferson City. He also is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Kempker was the 1990 Missouri Police Chief of the year and is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal for Valor.

The Law Enforcement Academy has trained more than 1,100 officers from five states since its formation in 1987. It offers 480-hour and 140-hour basic training classes. The 480-hour classes are offered twice each year, with students attending on weekends. The 140-hour basic training begins each spring and lasts for seven weekends.

Law enforcement officers must get 48 hours of continuing education credit every three years. Courses are offered both at the Southeast campus and at the Bootheel Education Center in Malden.

Dr. Michael F. Brown is the director of the academy, which has 25-part-time instructors from area law enforcement agencies.

The new graduates are Deanna Andrews, Deseri Beasley, Jamie Burgfeld, David Burton, Joseph Chaney, Joseph Craft, John Decker, Edward Lee Dodd Jr., Jonathan Eskridge, Randy Ernst, Henry Jay Freeman and Leigh Green.

Also graudating were Joseph Hann, Tisha Hecht, Phillip Hood, Marcus Hopkins, Colleen Huett, Benjamin Johnson, Robert Keener, Jerry Keirsey III, Rachel Kilgore, David Leeman, Terry Lemonds, Philip Little, Jill Lynch, Patrick McCauley, Travis Sargent, Michael Shipman and Bradley Stotler.