FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????OPCLEE

Friday, October 13, 2000????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????202/307-0703

POLICE CORPS TRAINS NEW OFFICERS IN

?GEORGIA, KENTUCKY, AND MICHIGAN

States Receive 39 Officers Through Justice Department Program

WASHINTON, DC ? With the graduation today of 39 Police Corps cadets, Georgia, Kentucky, and Michigan moved forward in their participation in the Justice Department?s Police Corps program. These three states and 22 others nationwide were selected by the Justice Department?s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to recruit and train college graduates to serve a minimum four years as community police officers.

?The highly trained graduates from the Police Corps program will continue to make an enormous difference in the communities they serve,? said Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General for OJP.? ?Through the successful completion of this rigorous training program, these new police officers are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and leadership to become effective officers in this new era of community policing.?

??????????? ?The Police Corps program is a competitive college scholarship program for students who

agree to work in a state or local police force for at least four years. The funds cover education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.

Today?s 12 graduates of the Georgia Police Corps program will join local law enforcement agencies statewide.? The graduation ceremony, which recognized Georgia?s first Police Corps class, took place at the Georgia Public Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia.

The Michigan and Kentucky Police Corps graduations were those states? second Police Corps classes, adding 23 officers to 14 Michigan law enforcement agencies and four officers to Kentucky?s law enforcement agencies. The Michigan ceremony took place on the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, and the Kentucky ceremony took place on the campus of Eastern? Kentucky University in Richmond.??

The graduations capped rigorous Police Corps training programs that consisted of 18 to 20 weeks of basic police training. This training, funded by the Justice Department, teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential 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.

Currently Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan are recruiting for upcoming Police Corps classes.? Students interested in the Police Corps apply to the "lead agency" of the participating state in which they wish to serve. 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 all racial, ethnic and gender groups.?????????

For additional information about the Police Corps program contact: Kristin Lagerquist with the Michigan Police Corps at 231/591-3792; Jan McLeod with the Georgia Police Corps at 912/993-4231; or Billy Fryer with the Kentucky Police Corps at 859/622-8075. Information is also available through OJP?s Web site at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/opclee.

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OPC1006

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For additional information contact Sheila Jerusalem at 202/616-3227.