FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OPCLEE
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2002 202/307-0703
“These men and women are making a commitment to ensure
public safety,” said Deborah J. Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the
Office of Justice Programs. “These officers have chosen to make a difference by
serving our citizens. We admire their dedication and congratulate them on their
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.
Tomorrow’s graduates of the Florida Police Corps
program will join four law enforcement agencies– the Hillsborough County,
Jacksonville and Orange County Sheriff’s Offices and the Tampa Police
Department. They were trained at the Northeast Florida Criminal Justice
Training and Education Center in Jacksonville. The ceremony is the culmination
of a rigorous 24-week Police Corps training program that teaches the knowledge,
skills and attitudes police officers need to serve on community patrol. At the
conclusion of the training, participants satisfy high performance standards for
physical, mental and emotional fitness.
The graduating Police Corps officers are: Robert
Santti of Crystal River; Christopher Rosbaugh of Daytona Beach; Scott Bucher,
Jacob DeVevo, James Hodge, Daniel Hurley, Michael Johnson, Geoffrey Liedke,
Morgan McNamee and Clayton Short of Jacksonville; Jason Bowen of Longwood;
Christopher Hall of Orlando; Daniel Berry, Jarvis Butler and Jason Cella of
Tampa; and Geoffrey Dahlem of Towson, Maryland.
The
graduation ceremony will be held on Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Florida
Community College of Jacksonville, South Campus, Wilson Center for the Arts. The
Honorable Paul Perez, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida will be
the keynote speaker. Other speakers include Mr. Robbie Maxwell, Director of
OJP’s Office of Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education; Jacksonville County
Sheriff Nathaniel Glover and Dr. Adam Herbert, Executive Director of the
Florida Police Corps.
Students
interested in the Police Corps apply to the lead agency of the participating
state in which they wish to serve. The Florida Police Corps is currently
accepting applications for the January, 2003 class. Applications are evaluated
based upon defined selection criteria.
For
additional information about the Florida Police Corps program, contact Steven
A. Richardson at 904/713-4896 or [email protected]. Information
about OJP’s Police Corps program and other OJP initiatives is available at the
OJP Website at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/opclee.
For additional information
contact Sheila Jerusalem at 202/307-0703.