Eight earn Detention Officer Certification
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 7, 2004 2:05 AM
Eight students have successfully completed detention officer certification training at Wayne Community College and passed the state certification exam.
Blair Pate, Regina Pearson, and Milagros Diaz, all of Goldsboro, David Grady of Grantham, Kari Darden and Ray Johnson of Wayne County, Timothy McCardell of Central Heights, and Denise Williams of Seven Springs are now eligible to work as detention officers in North Carolina.
Mrs. Williams earned the program's first top graduate award. The award recognizes the graduate who "doesn't necessarily have the highest academic standing or run the fastest, but demonstrates academic excellence, dependability, positive attitude and participation in all activities at a level above and beyond his classmates," says Beverly Deans, WCC's law enforcement training director.
The state-accredited course provided students with the physical and cognitive skills needed for an entry-level detention officer position and mandated by the N.C. Sheriff's Training and Standards Commission through the N.C. Community College System.
The eight-week course incorporated professionalism through ethics and communication skills, academic achievement, discipline and officer safety with practical exercises and hands-on skills training.
In the 19 years Wayne Community College has run the program, 100 percent of its graduates have passed the certification exam and all have been placed in jobs.
The next detention officer course will start in early spring 2005.
There is an ongoing need for male officers in the area law enforcement detention agencies. For more information about the program, call 735-5151, ext 329.