Lone Star College System has plans to reopen the Law Enforcement Academy at its University Park campus this January with a new director on board.
Director Lloyd Dragoo said classes will start Jan. 5 with programs available to newcomers looking to become peace officers as well as service training for officers already in the field.
Enrollees in the Basic Peace Officer course can choose from a full-time academy with 40 hours of class per week, or part-time day or night academies running four hours each day, four days each week. State requirements set by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement call for a minimum of 643 training hours to become a police officer. Students will rack up 700 by the end of the LSCS program.
The program, which ends the first week of May for full-time enrollees, concludes with the state licensing exam administered by TCLE. All students who pass officially become eligible to serve anywhere in the state, including with sheriff departments, municipal police departments and constable offices.
LSCS officials brought Dragoo in to revive the program based on a noticeable need for law enforcement training opportunities in the community, said Christina Robinson, chief strategist for innovation and research with LSC–University Park.
"The community is growing and the need for law enforcement continues to rise," she said. "A major focus of [LSCS] is putting people back into the workforce. Every student we put back into the community can immediately go to work in a field that has a critical need."
Dragoo previously served as the director of two other law enforcement academies in Texas—the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy and the Sul Ross State University Law Enforcement Academy. Both academies saw pass rates for the state exam rise to 100 percent under Dragoo's instruction. Dragoo has also served as a captain in the U.S. Army and as a police officer himself.
The curriculum for the Basic Peace Officer course covers 33 objectives mandated by TCLE. Objectives include report writing, first aid, firearms training, mechanics of arrest, penal code and traffic law. Dragoo said he runs a paramilitary academy with inspections and physical training for full-time enrollees as well as rigorous testing.
"The first third of the academy, with the exception of physical training in the morning, is all academic with a lot of law," he said. "By the end of the program cadets will have taken 80 written tests."
Dragoo ties his 100 percent success rate to the rigorous material, making sure only fully prepared students are sent on the take the state exam. Cadets who drop below an 80 average are dismissed. Dragoo also issues four of his own final exams at the end of the course. Students must pass all four in order to take the state exam.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to pass the class," Dragoo said. "It's more about heart than it is anything else. You just have to really want to do this."
Dragoo said he is expecting somewhere between 90 and 120 cadets to enroll across the three peace officer classes this January. No matter how full classes get, he said he would not turn anyone away.
"I'll handle as many that come in," he said. "We'll find the space. We'll find additional instructors if we have to."
Students interested in applying must be between the ages of 20 and 63 with a GED or high school diploma and must pass a physical, psychological test, drug screening and criminal history background check. More information and applications can be found online. Lone Star College's University Park campus is located at 20515 Hwy. 249.
