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Kiera Johnson, of Ogdensburg, completes SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute

Posted 1/15/25

POTSDAM  Kiera Johnson, of Ogdensburg, recently graduated from SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute .

The Law Enforcement Training Institute provides students with the unique …

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Kiera Johnson, of Ogdensburg, completes SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute

Posted

POTSDAM  Kiera Johnson, of Ogdensburg, recently graduated from SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute.

The Law Enforcement Training Institute provides students with the unique opportunity to complete a rigorous pre-employment, state-approved police training as part of their undergraduate curriculum, alongside hired officers completing their own training.

A cohort of eight pre-employment police cadets and eight hired officer cadets started the training in August 2024 at SUNY Potsdam. The students and officers celebrated their completion of the program with a ceremony on Dec. 14, attended by family members, friends and law enforcement officials from across the state.

SUNY Potsdam's 15-week program allows students to successfully complete Phase 1 of the New York State Municipal Basic Police Training, which includes 56 of the full 60 components required of all police officers. The academy also offers Phase 2 training, which comprises the final four components, which can only be completed by recently hired officers.

Students who complete Phase 1 are uniquely employable, as the agency that hires them will only be responsible for their Phase 2 and field training. This allows chiefs to get a new officer into their community much more quickly, and at less cost to the agency. The eight hired officers who graduated in December have since started their field training with their respective agencies.

Beginning in Spring 2025, SUNY Potsdam will host an additional academy for newly hired officers to support local agencies, as the premier provider of law enforcement training in the North Country, endorsed by the St. Lawrence County Chiefs of Police and County Sheriff.

As a New York State-accredited police academy, SUNY Potsdam's Law Enforcement Training Institute offers in-service training for agencies throughout St. Lawrence County using top-of-the-line simulators, simulation tools, and facilities designed to improve decision-making skills through reality-based training. The annual police academy offers instruction in defensive tactics, emergency medical services, emergency vehicle operation, applying field sobriety tests, processing crime scenes and a plethora of other training topics. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/appliedlearning/lawenforcement.