Horry Georgetown Technical College now offers a new program for people who want to train as a police officer.
It’s the second program of it’s kind in the state may help ease wait times at South Carolina’s police academy.
“Some of the officers we have in there, and I have had some discussions over the last week, they’re challenged,” said Ken Davis, Horry County Police Department’s Deputy Chief of Operations. “I like that, that’s a good thing.”
Horry Georgetown Technical College realized it needed to concentrate more on courses to help the lack of law enforcement field training.
“They have these people waiting to go to the academy, so the pre-academy slips in and helps prepare, not only keep them busy, but it helps them prepare themselves so they’re gonna be more successful,” said Dr. Daniel Wysong, Associate Dean at HGTC.
The school partners with Horry County Police Department for the program. The officers in training work in the field with other officers every Friday, allowing them to put the pieces together easier at the academy.
“We have these officers out doing their field training with officers in the field,” said Davis. “I mean, we’ve got some at the airport, maybe at the precincts, out getting experience across the board of what the county police does.”
Davis says they want this program to be a flagship model for South Carolina. And one day?
“If we’re able to put in regionalization, an academy regionalization concept, where we can train officers here, we hope to be able to do that someday,” said Davis. “There are a lot of stones to be put in place to get that done, but that, at the end of the day, that’s where we want to get.”
Dean Wysong says the program’s courses exceed what is taught at the academy, in constitutional and criminal law, and judicial procedure.
Certified academy instructors teach the courses, primarily those with Horry County Police.