The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has long had an impeccable reputation for the quality of training provided to both its academy gr
aduates and its specialized class attendees. Now, thanks to a Department of Justice grant, the center has now added another layer of professional instruction to its repertoire.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Training Center has been named the Regional Training Hub for the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST). The IADLEST is an international organization focused on assisting law enforcement training centers to provide training meeting the highest industry standards with respect to content and quality delivery.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to be one of only 42 regional training hubs in the United States. Currently, the command staff of the Sheriff’s Office is participating in an IADLEST course entitled, “Every Officer is a Leader for Executives”. This class will focus on providing upper-level commanders with the tools needed to promote public trust, problem solving and to address the anticipated changes that law enforcement will face in the future. This training will continue down the chain of command with additional focal points such as listening skills, conflict management, working with community groups and self-management skills. These leaders will also be extensively trained to pass this knowledge on to subordinates under their command.
The instruction provided for these classes is of a caliber second to none. Dr. Terry Anderson, who is the Chief Leadership Officer at the International Academy of Public Safety; Bill Cooper, retired Chief of Police of the Bainbridge Island (WA) Police Department and former Director of Security for T-Mobile; and Chief Sam Spiegel, a 40-year veteran of law enforcement, who is also retired Chief of Police and Director of Emergency Services for the City of Folsom California are leading the training. While the education is of the highest quality, it is monitored by Accreditation and Grants Manager, Mark Damitio from the IADLEST home office.
Damitio credits Jefferson County Sheriff’s Academy Director, Tommie Black with the institution of the honor bestowed on Jefferson County’s Training Center. “Jefferson County was one of the first centers to volunteer in the U.S. to become an IADLEST Training Hub. We are happy to be able to provide quality training at this pre-vetted facility.”