COLUMBUS — The 10th Public Safety Leadership Academy class graduated 31 law enforcement leaders, including one from Bowling Green, after 11 weeks of accredited, college-level training through a partnership with the Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
Sgt. Jeffrey Lowery of the Bowling Green Police Division was part of the class.
The training was hosted at the patrol’s training academy and was offered at no cost to agencies through casino tax revenue distributed to the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services for the purpose of supporting law enforcement training.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles A. Jones provided remarks and Heidi Ramsey, an instructor for PSLA and the FBI National Academy addressed the graduates.
Graduates learned skills necessary to manage any division within a law enforcement agency, demonstrated preparedness to take on additional leadership responsibilities, and earned a leadership certificate and 10 hours of academic credit. Participating officers completed 274 hours of instruction on leadership, community engagement, public administration and contemporary issues in policing.
Graduates had the opportunity to meet with executive law enforcement officials to learn from their experiences and discuss how to build positive relations with the communities they serve. Graduates also attended classes on dealing with future challenges in the field, overcoming the unique mental stressors of possible violence on the job, and ensuring best practices for law enforcement managers to recruit and retain the next generation of law enforcement professionals.
During National Police Week, graduates traveled to Washington, D.C., and the Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland, where they toured sites that shaped the nation’s leaders and attended specialized training for peace officers at the National Holocaust Museum.
As part of a community outreach effort, graduates partnered with the Columbus-based nonprofit Local Matters to help restore and repair community garden sites in central Ohio.
