Nicholls State University Police officers completed a series of advanced training programs over the past year in addition to their annual training exercises.Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, said that some of the training sessions that have been completed include crime scene collection of DNA evidence, identification of social drugs common to a college campus, current domestic violence laws and maintenance of the safety and security of spectators at University sporting events.
The training programs were sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District in New Orleans, U.S. Department of Justice, President’s Initiative to Advance Justice though DNA Technology and National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security.
“We’ve had some recent cases where that training came into effect and officers had to collect DNA for evidence,” Jaccuzzo said. “Training also involved crime scene protection which includes closing off an area and perimeter and knowing how to legally process it.”
Jaccuzzo said that the timing of the crime scene collection of DNA evidence training proved itself useful in the unexpected and unfortunate events that occurred on campus this semester.
“The officers also do annual training with firearms, CPR, first aid and self defense,” Jaccuzzo said.
Jaccuzzo said the department recently received sponsorship from the Rural Policing Institute to cover the expenses of E-learning.
“We have approximately 180 topics that we can cover in law enforcement,” Jaccuzzo said. “Each officer can log in and take the class, just like an online college course.”
Officers who complete each online training session receive a certificate and the appropriate amount of credit hours.
“We fight the stigma that our officers may not be equal to civilian police, but our officers are actually trained in a greater variety than other officers are,” Jaccuzzo said.
Jaccuzzo said that the University Police are trained across the board in a variety of topics that are fundamental to their profession and the situations that they may need to handle.
“People only look at the simplest part of their job, but it should be more than that,” Jaccuzzo said. “For example, I made my officers take usher training in addition to the gate training so that they can direct the public if they need to.”
Jaccuzzo said that officers are sometimes confronted with situations that are not part of their necessary training, which is why it is so important for them to be prepared for the possible as well as the probable.
“It’s good to be cross trained,” Jaccuzzo said. “I would rather prepare them now so that if it something would come up, they will have already been exposed to those things.”
Jaccuzzo said that he believes a good officer can do more than follow orders. The best police officers have a sharp mind.
“A good officer knows the laws he’s applying, knows the rights of individuals, and knows not to violate those rights,” Jaccuzzo said. “He is consistent with policy and procedure and can maintain a safe environment.”
“I would like to make sure that people understand that training at the police department is continuous, and as a responsibility of my position, I make sure that they stay current in their profession,” Jaccuzzo said.
