LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Gov. Mike Beebe announced an effort that will allow more law enforcement officers to finish certification and associate-degree programs at reduced costs.
Criminal justice courses will be offered free to sworn officers, but they will have to pay for general education classes.
"This is a marriage of two of my favorite groups – higher education and law enforcement," the governor said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
Officers in Arkansas will have an opportunity to earn certificates of proficiency, technical certificates and associate of applied science degrees in crime scene investigation and law enforcement administration at colleges and universities across the state.
"It is a fast-growing technological science, and it's enabled the law enforcement community to do two things: To get the bad guys and exonerate the good guys," he said.
To successfully complete the program, officers will have to take specific courses through the Criminal Justice Institute, which is part of the University of Arkansas system, in addition to the general education courses they would take at one of the participating schools, said Cheryl May, deputy director of the Criminal Justice Institute.
Material covered in criminal justice courses include crimescene and death investigation, management and supervision, drug investigation and more, May said.
"Of course that changes all the time," she added.
Jim Purcell, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said some of the courses are as challenging as graduate-level courses.
The program began in 2003 as a pilot, he said. Since that time, 33 officers have gone through the program. Seventy officers are enrolled now.
The collaboration between the Criminal Justice Institute and 19 public colleges and universities will not only make education more financially accessible but also more geographically accessible, Beebe said. The courses will help make sure law enforcement officers have the training necessary to do their job, the governor said. For that reason, the schools had immediate positive responses to the idea.
"If I watch any other television at all besides history channel or science channel, it's all that CSI stuff," Beebe said. "The American public has now come to the conclusion that with the science and technology, cops can solve any crime. We know it's not that easy." Chuck Lange started his career in law enforcement in 1965 when, he said, all that really mattered was if an officer was big enough to fight. College education wasn't encouraged.
He said the program is all part of the new era of law enforcement.
"It can only help the people of Arkansas and make us better at our jobs," said Lange, chairman of the Criminal Justice Institute's Advisory Board and executive director of the Arkansas Sheriffs Association.
The nature of police work makes getting an education difficult for most, said May. Many of the students who have come through the program don't think they'd be able to get a degree if not for this program.
"It is very difficult, and we wanted to do everything we can to support them," she said.
