Academy opening
One Badge . Limitless Opportunities .
by Patrick Evans-Hylton
One Badge . Limitless Opportunities . That ’ s the promise Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood made in early 2021 when his department ’ s new training academy was announced –– in large part to address the challenge of filling vacancies .
For decades , the Volusia sheriff ’ s office has relied on outside institutions to provide basic law enforcement training to deputy recruits , sometimes with mixed results . Chitwood said previouslytrained recruits were not meeting the standards of his agency , especially in the areas of body camera use , community policing , cultural diversity , de-escalating tense situations and implicit bias . In addition , when law enforcement members from out of state wanted to transfer to Florida , they had to go to a county outside Volusia County for training –– and too often , they never came back .
In response , the Volusia Sheriff ’ s Department focused its efforts on three things ; leveraging the brand of the organization as a top law enforcement organization , creating a process for outof-state members of law enforcement to plug into Volusia County and speeding up the training process for new recruits .
Winning approval from state officials , the new program not only meets agency standards but also works to allow recruits to start their law enforcement careers without having to pay for basic classes out-of-pocket , increase the level of training and streamline the hiring process .
From the day you ’ re selected for hire at the Volusia Sheriff ’ s Office , we ’ ll pay you , train you and prepare you for a successful , rewarding career in modern law enforcement ,” Chitwood told potential sheriff officers in a release upon the approval .
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