CLARKESVILLE – Students who complete the University of North Georgia Public Safety Academy are job ready upon graduation.
That means they have achieved Basic Law Enforcement Mandate certification, including first aid/CPR, emergency vehicle operations, firearms and pepper spray at the time they complete the program with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
In addition, UNG Public Safety Academy graduates also receive the following additional certifications: taser, ASP baton, standardized field sobriety, radar/Lidar, and patrol rifle familiarization.
Sallie Parker, coordinator of the Public Safety Academy and an adjunct instructor at UNG, explained more about the emergency vehicle operations portion of the program, held last week at the Habersham County Fairgrounds near Clarkesville.
“It is highly important because the students must pass this course in order to earn their certification in law enforcement,” Parker said. “They have to prove to us they can drive a vehicle quick and safely, and they have to go through a skid course, which involves catching skids – meaning they can recover the vehicle without it losing control and possibly going off the road. They have to do a braking exercise, meaning they can show that they can go at a certain speed and they can properly brake and handle the vehicle well.
“Then they’re going through a cone course which is basically just showing, in my opinion, that they know how to drive,” Parker said.
As simple as that may sound, students are required to complete that course without knocking over any cones in roughly two minutes.
“It’s very important for them to be able to be able to earn that certification in law enforcement, but also very important to show that they can handle these vehicles safely on the road and that our citizens can feel safe around these officers,” Parker said.
The UNG Public Safety Academy began in 2015 and is in year five.
Students who participate must be an incoming, degree-seeking freshman with a declared major in criminal justice, be an American citizen, opt in to the Public Safety Academy program and complete an application, pass an entrance exam, pass a physical exam, maintain a 2.5 GPA in the major for the duration of the program, pass a criminal background check and driver’s history report.
In addition to the repurposed Dodge Chargers used by students in the program, the Public Safety Academy recently added two Ford Crown Victorias that were donated.
“We received a donation from Forsyth County for a couple of cars,” Parker said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the budget to purchase brand new cars, especially with COVID-19 happening. That really hurt our budget significantly, so it was great to have Forsyth County donate a couple of Crown Vics to us so that we can add on to our fleet. A lot of these cars were used with Georgia State Patrol prior and they have over 100,000 miles. There’s a reason why they’re not being used on the road anymore, so we go through them fairly quickly. They drive them really hard.”
Parker said if an area law enforcement agency has an excess vehicle officials want to donate to the program, that agency can contact the academy by email at [email protected] or by phone at (706) 864-1904.
Butch Newkirk, director of the Public Safety Academy, discussed another recent donation to the program from one of the area’s largest employers, Springer Mountain Farms.
“We just got a brand new big trailer in to haul all our equipment,” Newkirk said. “We’ve got hundreds of cones, jacks, tools to work on these EVOC cars that Forsyth County S.O. gave to us. Springer Mountain Farms was able to go in and design the whole interior of this big trailer where we can carry all of our equipment – air compressors, tires, jacks, anything we need. We definitely appreciate it. It was a great help to us. They’re a great sponsor for our university.”
Graduates of the UNG Public Safety Academy have found jobs at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol, U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Victim Witness Assistance Program of Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, Lumpkin County District Attorney’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Gwinnett Police Department, Hall County District Attorney’s Office, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Dunwoody Police Department, Johns Creek Police Department, Roswell Police Department, Alpharetta Police Department, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Corrections, University of North Georgia Public Safety and Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Newkirk thanked the staff of the Habersham County Parks and Recreation Department for allowing the academy to conduct the emergency vehicle operations course at the Habersham County Fairgrounds again this year.
