HAMLET — Richmond Community College will offer its Basic Law Enforcement Training as an evening program this spring semester. Training begins Feb. 5, and applications are due Jan. 19.
This six-month evening program gives students essential skills required for entry-level employment as law enforcement officers with state, county or municipal government — or with private enterprises.
The BLET program utilizes N.C. Criminal Justice Training and Standards Commission mandated topics and methods of instruction. Every law enforcement officer employed by an agency in North Carolina must successfully complete BLET and pass the BLET state exam.
General subjects of the program include criminal, juvenile, civil, traffic and alcoholic beverage laws; investigative, patrol, custody, and court procedures; emergency responses; and ethics and community relations.
Outside of classroom lecture, students participate in physical training, which culminates in a challenging test of strength, endurance and agility while maintaining mental alertness. Commonly referred to as the POPAT (Police Officers Physical Abilities Test), many of the exercises and obstacles involved relate to physical and mental tasks they might face on the job.
Other portions of the BLET program include firearms and defensive driving. Students learn how to safely use, carry and store a firearm, and they must pass a qualifying test on the firing range. As for the driving lessons, students learn how to think quickly behind the wheel at high rates of speed and how to plan the best routes when responding to an incident.
Students must successfully complete and pass all units of study, which include the state-mandated examinations to receive a certificate.
Application packets are available at the front desk in the Lee Building on RichmondCC’s main campus in Hamlet and at the Honeycutt Center in Laurinburg. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply early, as space is limited in the program. Applications are due Jan. 19.
For more information, contact Director of Public Safety for RichmondCC Neil Parrisher at 910-410-1708 or [email protected].