Law Enforcement Training Institute

The SUNY Potsdam Law Enforcement Training Institute is a landmark applied learning initiative, designed to provide students with the opportunity to complete a rigorous pre-employment, state-approved police training course as part of their undergraduate curriculum.

Students in an accredited New York State police basic course (colloquially a "police academy", though New York does not officially use this term) are trained in defensive tactics, emergency medical services, emergency vehicle operation, applying field sobriety tests to intoxicated individuals in a controlled setting, processing crime scenes, learning military drill and ceremony, and a plethora of other law enforcement training topics.

The New York State pre-employment basic police training curriculum is one of the very best in the country and is above the standard of most other curricula. SUNY Potsdam's Criminal Justice faculty have augmented this excellent curriculum to create an exceptional learning experience.

Applications for the Fall 2023 Law Enforcement Training Institute will be accepted starting in January 2023

Read the ABC’s of the program, and be sure to contact our Police Academy Director Sonny Duquette (duquetar@potsdam.edu) for additional information.

About

• One of only 11 schools in New York authorized to teach pre-employment police basic training, and the only SUNY liberal arts college offering this program.
• Full semester of dedicated, Department of Justice approved curriculum (485 total contact hours)
• Offered in the fall semesters only
• Up to 24 seats available. Priority seating goes SUNY Potsdam’s Criminal Justice students, then to the rest of the students enrolled at SUNY Potsdam, then any seats left remaining is opened to all others, to include recently hired police officers, on a case by case basis to be determined by Director Duquette.

Benefits

• Students will complete 95% of the total requirements for attending a NYS Police Academy, prior to completing their undergraduate degree!
• Those who complete the academy will receive a college stamped transcript of “Pre-Employment Basic Police Training.”
• Students will receive 15 upper division credits towards the 45 required for the bachelor’s degree.

Core Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must:

• Have a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA in their undergraduate study
• Have Junior or Senior status or higher (may apply in their sophomore year and enroll in the academy in their Junior or Senior year)
• Pass an interview with Police Academy Director Sonny Duquette