Fairmont State ceases entry-level police cadet training, pivots to officer leadership programs

Apr. 20—FAIRMONT — Fairmont State University will pivot from producing new police to enhancing the career skills of law enforcement officers who need next level training.

The school made the announcement on Friday at a press conference in Hardaway Hall. The change will start with the 2024-25 school year.

"We're heading in the direction of providing in-service and continuing education to law enforcement professionals around the state," Diana Phillips, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said. "This is in response to our relationships with different municipalities and the things that we've learned in running the police academy over the last year and a half."

The first course the revamped academy will offer is a 16 hour leadership course. Phillips said this course prepares West Virginia police officers for greater responsibilities at law enforcement agencies by enhancing the leadership skills of police who are in management. Other class offerings will be developed through discussion with law enforcement agencies across the state.

"It is critical that we identify the changing needs of law enforcement in West Virginia so we can meet those needs," Phillips said.

Among the areas that classes could be developed on are crime mapping, victimology, report writing and others. Remedial academic programs will also be offered to police officers who need it.

Phillips said the school's law enforcement academy will head in the direction of continuing education for the next couple of years. The courses are meant to provide existing police officers a path to improve their career skills rather than fill any skills shortage across the state.

"The reason it was recommended by the leadership of the police academy is because it is what we call in higher ed, 'just in time' learning," Phillips said. "A need can be identified, as long as it is in the realm of law enforcement. Our very experienced instructors can stand up that course in a short period of time. So it's quick, it's just in time and is responsive to needs of law enforcement from around the state."

According to the Fairmont State website, the university has already offered a "Police Leadership Development Program" on March 7-8 this year for officers ranked at sergeant or above. The $300 class "fulfills WV certification requirements" and includes two lunch tickets and overnight accommodations in Pence Hall upon request. The same class is being offered May 29 & 30 and August 15 & 16.

There is a current shortage of law enforcement officers across the state. Phillips said the hope was that the Academy's course pivot wouldn't exacerbate the shortage, but that the school would continuously reassess to meet the needs of law enforcement. Offering both basic training and continuing education at the same time might be a possibility in the future, but for now the immediate need was for short term training.

Philips did not answer one way or the other if the school did not have the resources to offer both the basic police and continuing education programs simultaneously.

"I would never say something like that," she said.

Fairmont Police Chief Steve Shine said continuing education is important for a police officer's career, but cautioned that the curriculum must include good training and learning. According to Shine, good training is relevant, helpful for morale and welfare, is a wise investment and positively affects behavior and performance at work.

"Bad training is worse than no training," Shine said. "Learning principles contrary to contemporary policing and impracticalities is counterproductive to law enforcement."

Jim Nolan is a sociology professor at WVU and 13-year veteran of the Wilmington, Delaware Police Department as well as former chief of the FBI's Crime Analysis, Research and Development Unit. He said it's important that continuing education programs not perpetuate problematic notions like the thin blue line, which encourages the notion that police are separate from the community and that what goes on behind the blue wall is a necessary evil in order to deal with the hardcore issues in society.

Last December, a watchdog found that instructors at a police training conference in Atlantic City taught lessons that glorified violence, encouraged insubordination and promoted unconstitutional policing tactics. Speakers also disparaged women, people of color and other marginalized groups. The report issued by the Police Accountability Project said it undermined a decade of police reform.

"Good police training is something that's more transparent, there's no thin blue line," Nolan said. "There's only the police in the community knowledgeable of what each other is doing and working together to prevent and solve crimes together."

Nolan said it's a good thing Fairmont State is offering the continuing education because it means the training is housed at a university and not a casino that treats training more like a junket complete with gambling and booze.

Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, said continuing education for the law enforcement field is not unique, other professions such as doctors and lawyers have similar programs. Like any other profession, how law enforcement is practiced changes throughout a career.

"Laws themselves change over time," Johnson said. "The state legislature may enact different laws or repeal other laws. Court cases may come then change laws or declare certain laws unconstitutional or may provide guidance as to how a law should be enforced.

"With police work, for example, when you need or don't need a warrant."

Societal or cultural changes also impact policing, as do improvements in the scientific aspects of the job. Johnson said that during COVID, police officers had to consider new cultural, political and societal responses because society itself as a whole changed.

It's vital, Johnson said, to consider what the appropriate response is because police are responsible for safeguarding people's rights. Therefore, police must consider context when it comes to the performance of their jobs.

"It's vital for the men and women who are out on the street, who are supposed to be enforcing the laws, but they're also required to enforce it in a constitutional manner," Johnson said. "It's vitally important they receive training throughout their career."

This applies to more than just arresting criminals and enforcing statutes. Police must also know the most appropriate ways to work with victims to achieve justice. Johnson said the modern approach to victim advocacy began in the '80s, when advocates emphasized victim impact statements and protecting women and children from domestic abuse.

Previously, police viewed the issue as a private matter, one to be kept behind closed doors.

"Society was changing in the sense of its responses to certain crimes based on what victims were experiencing and talking about," Johnson said. "Those changes then have to be reflected with the police response. The men and women who are to be officers need to be trained on them."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com