SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- With the graduation today of 19 police cadets, the Utah Police Corps has added a total of 106 highly trained Police Corps officers to community patrol throughout the region. Utah 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).

    "These outstanding men and women are at the beginning of the criminal justice process and we admire their dedication on this achievement," said Deborah Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "These officers now stand ready to serve with the skills and training to do an outstanding job."

    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 Utah Police Corps program will join six of the state's law enforcement agencies -- the Salt Lake City Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol, West Valley City Police Department, St. George Police Department, Logan City Police Department, and the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation. Four graduates, members of the Nevada Police Corps, will serve with three Nevada law enforcement agencies - the Nevada Highway Patrol, Nye County Sheriff's Office, and the Henderson Police Department. One graduate, a member of the Arizona Police Corps will serve with the Glendale Arizona Police Department.

    All were trained at the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy in Salt Lake City and will be assigned to community patrol within their jurisdictions. 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, participants satisfy high performance standards for physical, mental and emotional fitness.

    The graduating Police Corps officers are: David Artis of Ogden; Jared Cardon of Provo; Garrett Freir of Salt Lake City; Alexander Garcia of West Valley City; Ryan Humphrey of Sandy; Jason Jarvie of Manila; Cheston Slater of Cedar City; Jay Topham of Salem; Frank Venditti of West Bountiful; Casey Hale of Tolleson, Arizona; Preston Raban of St. Johns, Arizona; Jason Stubblefield of San Diego, California; Edward Bentley III of Marquette, Michigan; Michael Diamond of Las Vegas, Nevada; Jeffrey Jones of Logandale, Nevada; Darren Taylor of Reno, Nevada; Ernie Kazmar of Reno, Nevada; Morgan Mathews of Renton, Washington; and Chris Jordan of Seattle, Washington.

    The graduation and reception will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the gymnasium at the Utah Peace Officer Standards & Training Academy in Salt Lake City. The keynote address will be delivered by Michael Medaris, National Deputy Director of the Office of Police Corps.

    Students interested in the Police Corps apply to the lead agency of the participating state in which they wish to serve. For information about the Utah Police Corps program and the next training class contact Arlene Babowsky at 801-965-4650.

    The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises 5 component bureaus and 2 offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education. Information about OJP programs, publications, and conferences is available on the OJP Web site, www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

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