Introducing a new NJ Cops Series... Police Academy Cape May County Episode I: Room for a View
Cape Crusade Beginning the inside story from a NJ Academy like no other
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
The wherewithal required to make it through the Cape May County Police Academy comes down to this: In the dorms where recruits live Monday through Friday for the 22-week Basic Course there is no TV. So while soon-to-be working law enforcement officers starting at other academies at the end of August or early in September might get to watch Monday Night Football, the 56 women and men at the only academy that demands living on campus will be enjoying Monday Night Learning. And Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night as well.
“ At the beginning, many of our recruits say they want to go home but at the end the majority say how they love the structure,” professes Tom DePaul, Director of the Cape May County Public Safety Training Center which houses the Academy.“ On the first day of orientation, I tell them they are going to be proud that they came out of this Academy, that they will be part of the elite.”
Nothing against any other academy in New Jersey which all are producing NJ Cops who will be great, but there is no other like the one in Cape May County. That is because it is the only one in the state where the recruits still room in throughout the week. And that, along with the curiosity from law enforcement officers in New Jersey about what’ s going on these days at the academies, gives cause to what will be an ongoing series in NJ Cops Magazine about how the class that begins on Aug. 30 will fare.
Welcome to Police Academy New Jersey, which is in no way to make reference to what most people think when they hear the Police Academy moniker. Not that this is boot camp, either, at least not in the Full Metal Jacket sense, but here is the response from a recent graduate when replying to an internet post asking whether the Cape May Police Academy has a good reputation:
“ Probably one of the tougher municipal academies in New Jersey,” the recruit posted.“ Make sure you’ re in shape when you go there or start training now.”
DePaul notes that a facility such as this can only exist with the cooperation of the county departments, the county government and the county prosecutor, all of whom combined in Cape May to establish the Academy in 1980. The Public Safety Training Center consists of a 100-seat tiered classroom with the latest computer technology, several additional classrooms and a room dedicated to the FATS firearms training simulator. In addition to classroom facilities, the center has two 40-position and one 20-position, 50-yard outdoor range along with an outdoor shotgun range and a four-lane 25-yard indoor range.
The 840-hour Residential Basic Course academic curriculum includes classes in professionalism, ethics, the criminal justice system, criminal and motor vehicle laws, laws of arrest, search and seizure, interviews, confessions and Miranda, traffic enforcement, narcotics, criminal investigations, juvenile law, physical training, unarmed defense, emergency response, weaponry, stress management and community relations. Other training includes boxing, survival shooting, simunition training and Red Cross Community Water Rescue Certification.
But the learning that might make the most difference takes place in the 56-bed dormitory, which can be divided for female and male recruits. It is here, where recruits must keep their quarters squared away at all times, that they develop an attention to detail that is so much a part of policing. It is here they can focus on their training with no distractions. And it is here, living within the group, that develops the teamwork so many departments see as a premium.
“ With what’ s happening with the changing times in law enforcement, it’ s about how you deal with people,” submits DePaul, who served for 32 years, including tours as chief in Hamilton Township and Wildwood Crest.“ When you live in a close-quarter environment, you need to really communicate. That is something lacking with some of the young people there. They have to communicate to work together, and the difference they learn about teamwork is the need to communicate.”
To further integrate recruits into the environments they will be working in, Cape May County strives to simulate as many real-world situations as available. Part of this results from the instructors being assigned from departments throughout the county who are requested to bring the experience from the street to the academy.
But between the simulations, the physical training and some of the other exertions, the goal is to consistently put students
CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ AUGUST 2016 43