Fairmont State University’s Police Academy welcomed the first ever class of police cadets on Monday, January 16. 19 cadets from 12 different state agencies arrived on campus to begin their 16-week journey towards becoming certified West Virginia law enforcement officers.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Police Academy Director Jeffrey McCormick. “Years of preparation have gone into creating this academy. The idea came about in 2016 and now we’re finally here welcoming our first class of cadets.”

The residential program prepares the cadets for their future in law enforcement by training them physically, providing courses in criminal law and procedure, teaching them basic and advanced policing procedures, indoctrinating vital skills that improve the relationships between police officers and their community and more.

“So much work has gone into creating the academy,” said McCormick. “I was working in Charleston when I heard about Fairmont State starting their own police academy and I knew I wanted to get involved. I wanted to use my background with local police and the FBI to assist in training the next generation of law enforcement.”

The academy is open to degree seeking and non-degree seeking students who are interested in becoming a certified law enforcement officer in the state of West Virginia. In addition to being “job ready” for hire by municipal police and county sheriff’s departments as well as a variety of other State agencies with law enforcement responsibilities, graduates will be excellently prepared for graduate study in Criminal Justice or related fields.

Learn more about the Fairmont State Police Academy by visiting www.fairmontstate.edu/policeacademy.