Many of you may have read or seen the announcement about a law enforcement academy taking place in Texas County. This is exciting news for our entire area and will provide another local resource for people looking for career opportunities.
A reminder that the State of Missouri offers academy tuition assistance through the Missouri Blue Scholarship program. For more information about the blue scholarship, visit the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s website.
The first and second weeks of October concluded a law enforcement instructor development course hosted at the Texas County Justice Center. Local officers from the sheriff’s office, Houston and Licking police departments completed the 40-hour course to obtain certification.
A lot has changed since I attended a law enforcement academy in 1997. I started the academy at age 20 and turned 21 during the course of instruction. I faced the same decision that many potential recruits may face also – whether to attend a part-time or full-time academy. Each path had its advantages and disadvantages. At that time, I was attending college classes, working part-time as a dispatcher and living at home, so it made sense to go the full-time route and finish sooner. However, many potential recruits rely upon full-time income at another job to support themselves and or their family and can’t attend class eight hours a day for five days a week. The part-time academy format that will be hosted in Houston is a chance for people to continue working full-time at their current job and attend the academy during evenings and weekends.
During the month of October there have been two events that sparked a large multiagency response. The first event was a situation involving an inmate at the state prison in Licking taking an employee hostage in a confined area. It is extremely rare for the Department of Corrections to request outside law enforcement intervention for a situation. The prison is located inside the city limits of Licking, and the sheriff’s office responded to support Licking PD with resources. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also brought in several resources.
Later in October, the United States Marshals and Missouri’s “operation relentless pursuit” fugitive task force was attempting to locate a fugitive in the Evening Shade area and encountered a situation that required additional tactical resources with the suspect hidden in a confined area. The sheriff’s office provided resources and support to the Marshals and a tactical team from the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded. These incidents, while unfortunate, show that law enforcement in Texas County can assemble a large multiagency response to any emergency situation that may arise.