COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Public Safety's Criminal Justice Academy Division announces that it will expand its regional training program to Anderson County and surrounding areas by establishing a satellite campus at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Training Center.

Anderson County Sheriff Gene Taylor has been working with CJA to expand its regional training program and will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with CJA to establish the fourth satellite campus site in the state. The Anderson training center, located at 5733 Airport Road, will accommodate 30 students.

The satellite offices offer advanced and specialized training for officers who have already been certified by the Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia. The Greenville Technical College/Greer Campus was the first satellite office in the Upstate region, opening in December 2000. Last year, CJA expanded to the Grand Strand area, opening an office at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. The third satellite office opened in 2002 in York County at the York County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Training Center.

The regional training model locates training sites near some of the most heavily populated areas of the state, allowing many law enforcement officers to be trained close to home. This reduces commuting distances and travel expenses for law enforcement officers, allowing them to return to their homes and communities at night.

“The regional training program supports the community-oriented policing philosophy and helps bring training closer to various law enforcement agencies across South Carolina,” said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose.