 "Photo: Antonio Cabriales")
 "Photo: Antonio Cabriales")
Many San Antonio Police Department officers have attended the criminal justice program at this college.
Being an officer isn’t as easy as it may seem, said Marshall Lloyd, criminal justice coordinator. Not only is there physical activity involved but students also have a lot to think about when deciding on law enforcement as a career.
Most officers who started off years ago had only a high school diploma, not a college degree, but Lloyd said, “If you don’t have the study skills, you can’t make it. Now you need a lot more than just a high school degree. You need the reading and writing skills to get you through.”
The criminal justice program helps students at the beginning stages of their careers to go into the training academy with all the academic basics they need, Lloyd said. The academy deals with the more hands-on training everyday officers go through.
This college has two opportunities each year to apply for the academy in the fall and spring. Graduates get jobs as police officers, private security guards and basic peace officers.
To remain within the law enforcement training academy at this college, which leads to a certificate of completion within 11 months, program manager Frank Francis said a candidate must maintain an 80 percent grade average, be 21 at the time of enrollment and complete 16 hours of college credit.
The college’s training academy gives students the proper training to be a police officer as the training facility the SAPD has.
The training academy gets students ready to be a police officer. Once finished, a certificate of completion is assigned and graduates can skip the SAPD training academy, Lloyd and Francis said.
More than 1,000 individuals may apply for the academy, and half won’t be able to pass the exam and are disqualified, Lloyd said. Students do not have to wait to the next year; they will be able to reapply again when the new set of openings is available every spring and fall.
A background check and history are the first stages that can prevent individuals from getting into the academy. Physical health is a big part of the winnowing process; everything is scored by civil service.
Continuing education law enforcement students at this college are not mixed into the academic program at the academy, although they use the same training facilities.
When students get into the academy at this college, they go straight to work and take up to two tests a week.
“You must organize yourself as a student to develop reading and writing skills,” Lloyd said.
“We are one of the few places in San Antonio that offer a program like this,” Francis said. “The program has been around for about 30 years.” Tactical handcuff, weapon retention, intermediate search and seizure, special investigation and crime-scene search are some of the classes offered.
To apply to be a San Antonio police officer as an entry-level cadet, individuals must be U.S. citizens at the time of application. The minimum to maximum age range for applicants is 20 years, 6 months old to 45 years old.
Candidates must have at least a C average with a high school diploma or a GED with at least 12 college hours. Convictions, violations and misdemeanors will disqualify individuals who have them on their records.
For more information, visit the San Antonio Police Department Web site.
For information on the continuing education program in law enforcement, and the law enforcement training academy, visit continuing education's Web site or call Frank Francis at 228-0973.
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