RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

A three week academy? That sounds like a setup to get you killed....look at the west coast and see what real academies look like.

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

Here is some info on extended and reserve academies at a college I attend....I don't think you can equate federal academies to civilian academies, they just are not the same type of policing.....if I were you, I'd be looking into going into a "full" academy. Our academies out here are long for a reason and because they are long, I think it adds a sense of professionalism to the career choice.
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Academy Dates 2005 - 2009

Class Number Dates Pre-Service Orientation Agency Orientation
182 01/02/07 – 05/31/07 11/02/06 12/07/06
Extended/Reserve #5 01/11/07 – 11/17/07 11/07/06 None
183 03/26/07 – 08/23/07 02/15/07 03/01/07
184 06/11/07 – 11/08/07 04/26/07 05/10/07
185 10/22/07 – 03/20/08 09/13/07 09/20/07
186 01/14/08 – 06/12/08 11/01/07 11/29/07
Extended/Reserve #6 01/10/08 – 11/15/08 11/06/07 None
187 03/31/08 – 08/28/08 02/28/08 03/06/08
188 06/23/08 – 11/20/08 05/15/08 05/22/08
189 09/29/08 – 02/26/09 08/21/08 09/04/08
190 01/12/09 – 06/11/09 11/06/08 12/04/08
Extended/Reserve #7 01/15/09 – 11/21/09 11/13/08 None
CLASS #191 03/30/09 – 08/27/09 02/19/09 03/05/09
CLASS #192 06/29/09 – 11/25/09 05/21/09 06/04/09
CLASS #193 09/21/09 – 02/18/10 08/13/09 09/03/09
CLASS #194 01/19/10 – 06/17/10 11/05/09 12/03/09
EXT/RES #8 01/14/10 – 11/18/10 11/10/09 None
CLASS #195 03/29/10 – 08/26/10 02/11/10 03/04/10
CLASS #196 06/28/10 – 11/24/10 05/20/10 05/27/10
CLASS #197 10/18/10 – 03/17/11 09/09/10 09/23/10
CLASS #198 01/03/11 – 05/26/11 11/04/10 12/02/10
EXT/RES #9 01/13/11 – 11/17/11 11/09/10 None
CLASS #199 04/04/11 – 09/01/11 02/24/11 03/10/11
CLASS #200 06/27/11 – 11/23/11 05/19/11 06/02/11

Orientation will be held at the Police Academy in Classroom A. It will begin at 9:00 a.m. sharp!

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

Yeah, I was a little leary at the idea of a three week academy for a lateral too. Apperantlly though SC has the second shortest "full" academy in the nation at only 9 weeks. The three weeker is just to give you SC law, constitutional law, firearms, and driving.

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

It is a joke. I don't know where you live, but most of us watch COPS just to see the godawful tactics. violations of the laws etc., done by some agencies outside of Calif. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of meatheads out here. lol

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

COPS can be a good laugh and training aid of what not to do thats for sure. But, it's great entertainment to watch with a couple of beers. I'm in Maryland and most of our county and local departments have a 6 month academy and a 8-10 week program for laterals (if you get accepted by the training commission). FLETC (the federal academy) was only 12 weeks down in GA and then another 4 weeks back at my department. So only about 16 weeks total........ Like you said federal is a different beast from municipal and county. As much as the west coast is appealing don't think the wife wants to go that far from home.

Last edited @ 3/29/2008 2:53 PM

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

She may not want to live here, it looks like a third world country is being developed....it makes me sick...DHS needs to build the freaking fences and stop messing around with them!
If I were you, and you wanted to do real law enforcement activities...go with a department and go through a full academy....you won't regret it. Beg to not be a lateral transfer.....lol

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

Thats what I'm hoping to do...... is get a chance to do some "real" police work. Maybe not on the west coast though. I'll leave the DMZ to you guys already there. LOL! Thanks for the advice and stay safe "over There".

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

Texas also requires just a three week course for laterals, including federal agents. The assumption is that you already know how to be a cop and need to learn Texas laws and court structures. For some cops, this is a decent assumption. For federal agents, there may be some questions.

The good news is that Texas also now requires an FTO program for all officers. It will help with the deficiencies of any academy program (and as an academy director, i know that no academy is complete).

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

Federal is a whole different ball game from county, state, and city LE. Especially since 911. We have shifted alot of our duties from general LE to threat response and security. Not to say we still don't do some but, not like pre 911 days. There are actually alot of uniformed Federal Police Officers and we did do regular LE. Ie: traffic enforcement, investigations, drugs, issuing citations for both federal and state laws, arrests, responding to priotity and routine service calls etc..... just no where on the same level of a county, or city officer.

Last edited @ 4/1/2008 1:21 PM

RE: Help.... looking for Info. on SC Academy

i been in baltimore city for 10yrs approx. we have a 6 month academy and roughly 6 weeks with a training officer on the streert. i can't talk about other agencies, but... i learned alot in this city.