Eighteen students from the Savannah Technical College Peace Officer Academy celebrated graduating from the program with a completion ceremony on July 19. Ciera Narvaez, a Liberty County resident, is one of the recent graduates. She will be working in Glynn County, according to Amy Shaffer, STC’s director of communications.

The nine men and nine women completed coursework containing the entire Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training (P.O.S.T.) Basic Law Enforcement Training Course. Their successful completion of the program qualifies them to be state-certified peace officers. 

This is the 28th group of students to complete the program since its inception in 2009. To date, the program has graduated 364 P.O.S.T.-certified officers. Many candidates are in various stages of the application process with statewide agencies. Twelve of the 18 candidates have been hired by area police departments. Savannah Tech’s Peace Officer Academy has a 97 percent placement rate.      

Each cohort selects a fallen officer for whom the graduating class will be named. The cohorts have a tradition of giving the family of the fallen officer a challenge coin dedicated to the officer. A challenge coin is a symbol of an unbreakable bond of dedication and allegiance among military personnel and law enforcement officers. The challenge coin tradition started as a military tradition in World War I and was later adopted by law enforcement.  

This cohort honors Sgt. Kevin Barry of the Chatham County Police Department, who passed away on July 7, 2018, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, siblings and several nieces and nephews. 

The Basic Law Enforcement Technical Certificate of Credit provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to become competent law enforcement officers. The 18-week cohort program utilizes classroom instruction pertaining to criminal justice theory and the prevailing principles of modern law enforcement, as well as the practical application of pertinent enforcement skills. College coursework contains the entire Georgia Peace Officers Standards & Training (P.O.S.T.) Basic Law Enforcement Training Course so that successful completion of the program will qualify the student to be a state-certified peace officer.

For more information, visit www.savannahtech.edu/PeaceOfficerAcademy or contact the office at 912-443-5191 or njones@savannahtech.edu. The next class begins in October 2019.