ATHENS - A Flowery Branch man is among the latest graduates of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center-Regional Police Academy in Athens - and at an age when many people are beginning to look down the road toward retirement, he's hoping his training leads to a new career.
Joseph M. Corrigan participated in the 11-week, 408-hour Basic Law Enforcement Training Course as required by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST). At 53, he was the oldest member of his class.
The course provides instruction in the areas of criminal justice, criminal law, constitutional law, community relations, modern police procedures, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, and first aid training.
Corrigan says he participated in the academy, not as a member of any police agency, but as a "pre-service" candidate.
"There two ways to attend Basic Mandate," he said, "and the most common way most of us are aware is when someone is hired by a department and sent. The department pays for training, equipment, salary benefits and the like. The other way is to attend as a 'pre-service' candidate. That's me."
Such students, he said, pay all expenses up front and out of their own pocket.
"When you are finished you are in effect a 'free agent' representing a great value to any department because those are costs they don't have to pay, saving their department and community on those costs."
Corrigan said in his case thre were two classes running concurrently and there were about four pre-service candidates between the two. "Visiting instructors to the academy would always ask who the pre-service people were so they could leave a business card saying also (that) they were hiring."
He said "without a doubt, the physical training was hard on everyone. You must be in very good shape."
He said physical training began at 6:45 each morning and "I also drove everyday to and from Athens which would usually mean starting the day an hour or two before everyone else."
Corrigon, who prior to attending the academy was a part of the Security Management Team at the Mall of Georgia where he was a shift supervisor, said he didn't do this just for fun or to experience something new. He hopes to start another career - in law enforcement.
"...many departments have hired folks like myself. A few months back Gwinnett County had a candidate finish at age 56. I come from a family of law enforcement with two uncles with NYPD (the New York Police Department), two cousins with NYPD and two brothers - one (with) New York State Police and another an FBI National Academy graduate, himself."
Corrigan said he has also written a book "The Patriot's Way - Everything You Need to Know About the POW/MIA Issue," which is available on Amazon in hardcover, paperback & Kindle.
He lives at Sterling on the Lake in Flowery Branch.
Sunday
July 6th, 2025
1:06AM
