BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Jacksonville State University is recruiting Alabama police officers interested in advancing their careers. They will soon have access to a program designed to help them become command staff. The new Southeastern Leadership Command College in development at Jacksonville State University will train law enforcement professionals to lead departments and agencies.
The Command College will be housed at the JSU Center for Best Practices in Law Enforcement. It will be open to any Alabama police officer who holds the rank of sergeant or above, providing professional development to senior leaders – such as police chiefs and sheriffs – while guiding those at the sergeant and lieutenant levels for leadership roles.
“Expanding on our extensive training opportunities, Command College will specifically address the needs of law enforcement personnel currently in leadership positions or who may be moving into leadership positions,” said Kaleb Littlejohn, director of the JSU Center for Best Practices in Law Enforcement.
The Command College will be broken down into three modules to cover several aspects of law enforcement.
“The first module you kind of go to business school. We’re offering pretty much free business school almost. Module two we’re talking about that political science aspect of everything. Politics, social atmosphere, and nutrition. Then the third module deals with specific issues geared toward criminal Justice administrators.”
While plans to establish Command College have been in the works for a few years, Littlejohn said the timeline was accelerated after a delegation from the university visited the Law Enforcement Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University last fall.
“The LEMIT institute is the model program in the country for providing advanced training opportunities to law enforcement leaders,” Littlejohn said. “Meeting with LEMIT encouraged us to design a program to help officers gain the skills and resources needed to better lead a department or unit within a department.”
JSU’s program curriculum will center on general management and leadership principles, including public policy, laws, and regulations, the social environment of police management, and law enforcement administration. Course credit may be available in the future for those who plan to pursue advanced degrees, pending approval from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Command College is expected to begin enrolling students in January 2024. The program will be free for sworn law enforcement officers in Alabama. Officers outside the state may apply but incur a small fee for meals and lodging. For more information, contact the Center for Best Practices in Law Enforcement at CBPLE@jsu.edu.
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