In the News
Collaboration with BVCOG yields winning cadet class
Friday, February 21, 2014
Police cadets stand to perform the pledge of allegiance during their January 2014 graduation ceremony, a culmination of the successful CAPCOG- Brazos Valley Council of Governments collaboration.
CAPCOG’s Regional Law Enforcement Academy has conducted basic peace officer courses (BPOC) for 19 years with a mission to produce the best-prepared peace officers for the capital area’s cities and counties.
The program’s success includes a feat few academies can claim: consistently achieving a 100 percent pass rate among cadets when they take the state’s licensing exam for the first time.
> Discover CAPCOG's Regional Law Enforcement Academy
Two years ago, CAPCOG began getting requests to conduct satellite academies for neighboring regions; other COGs that didn’t operate academies were interested in CAPCOG conducting a BPOC and perhaps eventually helping them ramp up their own efforts.
The academy has just finished its first satellite BPOC in another region, with 16 cadets graduating from a course conducted in partnership with the Brazos Valley Council of Governments in Bryan, Texas.
Because RLEA staff take an intensely hands-on approach that ensures cadets get the best training possible — with a heavy focus on the academic portion — overseeing the eight-month evening course posed a challenge.
> Apply for the next Basic Peace Officer Certification Course
A lack of daily contact with the course’s 23 adjunct instructors teaching more than 30 topics made RLEA Director Mike Jennings a bit nervous, but his leadership helped yield a 100 percent pass rate on the cadets’ first crack at the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement licensing test.
CAPCOG will again carefully consider future collaborations — producing a lengthy course outside the region can add a significant work-load to an already robust schedule — but partnerships between councils of governments remain a hallmark of helping communities across the state succeed.