SEMO TO OFFER ADVANCED ACADEMY IN SPRING

The criminal justice department at Southeast Missouri State University has received approval from the Missouri Department of Public Safety's Peace Officers Standard and Training Commission to hold a 130-hour advanced law enforcement academy this spring.

The academy will begin April 10 and will continue through June 21 on alternate weekends, said Michael Brown, chairman of the criminal justice department.

Instruction will be given from 6-10 p.m. on Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on the Southeast campus.

"We're offering this course to help officers improve their professional skills and in anticipation of a change in the law," Brown said. He explained that he soon expects Missouri to increase the number of training hours required to be a police officer.

Missouri currently ranks last among the 50 states in the minimum hours required for certification as a law enforcement officer.

"I am very excited about this," Brown said. "We're trying to make this a regional academy. Our instructors are from all over the university's service area."

Subjects to be covered will include: unarmed self-defense techniques, firearms requalification and tactical shooting, arson investigations, drug investigations and identification of dangerous drugs, covert investigations, DWI enforcement and improved sobriety testing, evidence collection, fingerprinting, injury and death investigation, interviewing and interrogation, civil liability, juvenile law, building searches, and hostage negotiations.

Serving as instructors will be representatives of the Scott County Sheriff's Department, Sikeston Department of Public Safety, Cape Girardeau police and fire departments, Perryville Police Department, Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the university's criminal justice department, the U.S. attorney's office, U.S. Marshal's Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Cost of the advanced academy is $325 per person, which includes all training materials, ammunition, law books and an instructional manual.

To be admitted, persons must hold current basic-training certification from the state of Missouri and a G.E.D. or high school diploma.

Interested persons can contact the criminal justice department at (314) 651-2541.