Joint police academy graduates first class

Published or Revised September 17, 2008

A joint police academy held by Paris Junior College and Northeast Texas Community College has graduated its first class. Nine residents of Hopkins and Hunt counties are the first to complete the Academic Alternative Police Academy program begun through PJC in 2006. The collaborative effort began when PJC and NTCC signed a local agreement for the two colleges to work together to provide local students in the Criminal Justice program an opportunity to obtain their Peace Officer Certification along with their two-year Associate's degree. NTCC has a new state-of-the-art firing range and driving range that PJC used to complete the academy training. "These types of agreements are a look into the future where more of them should and hopefully will provide the best possible training and delivery of instruction to best serve the community and create opportunities for students," said PJC's Dean of Workforce Education Kevin Rose. Another phase of this agreement will occur when PJC again collaborates with NTCC at the PJC — Greenville Center to provide a traditional fast-track Police Academy in early 2009. For more information on the Criminal Justice program at PJC, contact Lana Biggerstaff Adams at 903-782-0497 or 903-454-9333.