Bucks County Community College in Newtown. (File Photo)
Bucks County Community College has moved a step closer to opening a police training academy following a crucial vote by a state commission, college officials announced.
On Sept. 11, the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission voted unanimously to establish a new police academy in Bucks County.
Although the initiative is in its early stages, the commission’s vote supports opening the academy at Bucks County Community College, which has campuses in Bristol, Newtown, and Perkasie.
“We are pleased that our application has taken the next step toward bringing vital law enforcement training to Bucks County,” said Bucks County Community College President & CEO Patrick M. Jones in a news release. “It’s notable that our initiative received letters of support from all three Bucks County Commissioners, all 13 members of our state legislative delegation, the police chiefs of Bucks County, and the Bucks County Sheriff.”
The concept was initially raised by faculty in the college’s criminal justice program, according to Dr. Samantha Gross, dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
“The idea of having a police academy at our college is something that’s always been on the radar of our criminal justice faculty,” said Gross. “Several of them are former police officers and made us aware of the opportunity to apply. We worked as a team on the application, and our faculty’s knowledge and expertise were indispensable throughout the process.”
Those faculty members included Professor Robert J. Ritchie, Dr. Robert F. Ritchie, Professor Al Sigafoos, and Professor Sarah Jakub, Gross added.
The municipal police academy will offer the state’s Act 120 basic police officer training, a comprehensive, mandatory, 919-hour program designed to prepare an individual for certification to become a police officer within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to Gross, adding that both full- and part-time training schedules are planned.
The academy will be housed at the Newtown Campus, where there is ample classroom space and facilities. The nearest such training facilities are currently in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
