FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2004

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8409

MT. PLEASANT POLICE DEPARTMENT, DPS COMBINE TO BRING ADVANCE TRAINING TO LOWCOUNTRY

COLUMBIA – The Mount Pleasant Police Department and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety will combine forces in a joint project to provide and coordinate centralized advanced and in-service training for all Lowcountry law enforcement agencies.

With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Justice Academy on Thursday, August 19, 2004, the Mount Pleasant Police Department became the sixth satellite training center in the state. The other five sites are in York, Greenville, Anderson, Orangeburg and Horry Counties.

“This agreement provides an opportunity for all law enforcement agencies in the Lowcountry to participate in advanced training programs without the encumbrance of travel and related expenses,” DPS Director James K. Schweitzer said. Regionalized training minimizes travel and overnight costs for those who would otherwise have to travel to Columbia.

“The decision by the Mount Pleasant Police Department to partner with the Criminal Justice Academy means that local law enforcement personnel can train while remaining in close contact with their departments. It also means that Lowcountry departments will be provided access to courses of training that were previously difficult to obtain,” Schweitzer said.  

The Criminal Justice Academy, working in conjunction with the Mt. Pleasant PD, will be responsible for scheduling advanced and in-service law enforcement training.  A Lowcountry Regional Training Steering Committee also will provide assistance in assessing the training needs for law enforcement and serve in an advisory capacity to the CJA. The needed classroom space and administrative assistance will be provided by the Mt. Pleasant Police Department.

DPS’ Criminal Justice Academy, which provides basic and advanced training for all law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, was established in 1968 under the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The then-voluntary training was conducted at SLED and the first class graduated in September of that year. Two years later, basic training became mandatory when the South Carolina General Assembly established the South Carolina Training Council and the Criminal Justice Training Academy. In 1993, with passage of the Government Restructuring Act, the Criminal Justice Academy became a division of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.

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