FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ?OPCLEE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2002??????????? ??????????????????????? ??????????????????????? ??????????? 202/307-0703
GEORGIA POLICE CORPS HOLDS THIRD GRADUATION
CEREMONY ?
13 Officers Graduate From Justice Department
Program
FORSYTH, GEORGIA? ? With the graduation today of 13 police cadets, the Georgia
Police Corps has added a total of 39 highly trained Police Corps officers to
community patrol throughout Georgia.
Georgia is one of 22 states and territories that recruit and train
college graduates to serve four years as community police officers through a
program funded by the Department of Justice?s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
?The work of these outstanding men and women
is essential to the public good.? It
strengthens our social fabric by maintaining standards of community life,? said
Deborah Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice
Programs.? ?Their work will engage
citizens in a collaborative endeavor of community‑building.? In accepting the responsibility for keeping
our communities safe and upholding law and order, they will make a difference
in the best tradition of a proud profession.
We admire their dedication and congratulate them on this achievement.?
?The Police Corps is a competitive college
scholarship program for students who
agree to work in a state or local police force for at least four
years.? Scholarship funds cover
education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation,
room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.
Today?s graduates of the Georgia Police Corps
program will join nine of the state?s local law enforcement agencies.? These departments, which include the Albany
Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, Cobb Police Department, Duluth
Police Department, Forest Park Police Department, Marietta Police Department,
Morrow Police Department, Rome Police Department, and the Toccoa Police
Department, will assign the new officers to community patrol within their
jurisdictions.
The graduating Georgia Police Corps officers
are: Jonathan Bratley of Lilburn; Thomas Case of Stockbridge; Randolf Cobian of
Smyrna; Jeremy James Cole of Lawrenceville; John Gladen of Athens; Juaneka
Smith of Albany; Rebekah Jean Steffman of Gainesville; Anthony Hardy of Gordo,
Alabama; Jason Ledbetter of Jacksonville, Alabama; John Knoblach of Charleston,
South Carolina; Leonard Blue of Walterboro, South Carolina; and Angela and
Elisa Reedy of Athens, Tennessee.
The graduation and reception took place at 10:00 a.m. at the Georgia
Public Safety Training Center Auditorium in Forsyth.? The keynote address was delivered by Robbie Maxwell, National
Director of the Police Corps Program.
The graduation is the culmination of a rigorous 20‑week Police
Corps training program, which teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes
police officers need to serve on community patrol.? At the conclusion of the training, all participants must satisfy
high performance standards for physical, mental and emotional fitness. The
police departments in which individual participants will serve provide
additional training as appropriate.
Students interested in the Police Corps apply to the lead agency of the
participating state in which they wish to serve.? Applications are then evaluated based upon defined selection
criteria. States with Police Corps programs are expected to advertise the
availability of scholarships to the full range of prospective participants and
to make special efforts to encourage applications from among members of all
racial, ethnic and gender groups.
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For information about the Georgia Police Corps program and the next
training class contact Jan McLeod at 478-993-4560.? Information is also available through OJP?s Website at:? http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/opclee.
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For additional
information contact Sheila Jerusalem at 202/307-0703.