Police academy coming to Sauk Valley Community College

DIXON — Sauk Valley Community College will be host to a police academy with training beginning in January.

Months ago, the college started working with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to become a site for a police academy, which would be the first in northwest Illinois.

“In talking with our local law enforcement and municipalities, we have identified a dire need, which is to provide immediate access for training the local community police officers for the Sauk Valley and beyond,” said Jon Mandrell, Sauk’s vice president of academics and student services. “We believe SVCC can be a strong partner in that.”

New law enforcement officers are sent to one of seven police academies throughout the state where they receive 560 hours of training across 14 weeks. Academies are in Chicago, River Grove, Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, Belleville and Glen Ellyn.

“By providing an additional, and more convenient location, SVCC will help alleviate the statewide backlog of cadets waiting to attend academy and thus aid in providing more trained officers within our community,” according to a news release.

Sauk currently provides degrees in criminal justice, as well as police simulation training. The police academy will begin hosting classes in January.

“As part of the college’s mission, SVCC aims to provide access to education. As such, SVCC saw a need for a more convenient location for training for local law enforcement agencies, and felt the college could respond to the industry’s need,” the release said.