The Advancing 21st Century Policing Community Report 2017 The Advancing 21st Century Policing Community Repo | Page 13

Advancing 21 st Century Policing: The Arlington Police Department Report to the Community
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Preparing future hometown heroes
Police Chief Will Johnson state, “The future success of
the city depends on the time and energy we invest in our
youth today.” High school students enrolled in
procedural justice classes are already learning what it
means to have a servant’s heart. They are exploring
careers in policing through a program called
Hometown Recruiting. While studying the criminal
justice system, students are working alongside
Arlington police officers and participating in training
exercises to sharpen critical thinking skills.
Officers are classroom instructors in a program called
Hometown Recruiting/AISD Police Academy.
The Police
Explore Program
combines
classroom
training with
ride-alongs in
police vehicles,
pistol shooting,
community
policing and
more. Students
experience first
hand what it’s
like to be an
officer of the
law.
The AISD Academy/Hometown Recruiting Program is
modeled after the training curriculum developed for
the Arlington Police Academy. All core competencies
are taught in the classroom and during scenario-based
training. This collaboration with the Arlington ISD, UT
Arlington and City of Arlington is building on the future
of law enforcement and enhancing the recruiting
pipeline for the Arlington Police Department.
A college degree is required
A higher level of training and education combined can
have a positive impact on the quality of an officer’s
performance. For this reason, the application process
for the Arlington Police Department requires a
bachelor’s degree. Additionally, it is estimated that
sixteen percent of the department have earned
graduate degrees. Close to 69 percent of the
department’s executive level staff have obtained
graduate degrees or higher. The Arlington Police
Department also benefits from the diverse cultural,
language and life experiences that officers and
civilian staff bring to policing in Arlington.
Young adult s train with officers
Law Enforcement Exploring is a program for young
people age14-21 who are considering careers in the
field of criminal justice. Explore Posts have served as a
platform from which countless young adults have
launched a successful career with local, county, state
and federal law enforcement agencies. Student
members lead community service projects and provide
assistance to officers. Sponsored by the Arlington
Police Department, members of Explorer Post 602 are
broadening their understanding and firsthand
knowledge of the challenges and job skills that
make up their community's police service.
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