Recruits who earned certificates from DeKalb Technical College's Law Enforcement Academy will be honored at a graduation ceremony to recognize their achievement on May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Conference Center of DeKalb Technical College's Newton Center located at 8100 Bob Williams Parkway. Ken Vance, Executive Director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T) Council will deliver the keynote address.

"We are very proud of graduating class 2011-008. We are excited about our graduates who are going out to serve where we live and work. Thanks to the quality of our faculty and staff they will be well equipped to have great careers and make our communities a safer place," said Beverly Thomas, Law Enforcement Academy Director.

During the intense training and educational program, the 24 graduating recruits were also actively involved in community-based initiatives to make a positive difference in the lives of others. They participated in the Exploring is Learning for Life's career education program by sponsoring an Explorer from the Conyers Police Department to go to the Explorer Academy in Michigan. Additionally, the Law Enforcement Academy recruits participated in the Newton County Relay for Life event sponsored by the American Cancer Society on Friday, April 29, and as a team they raised the most money online for the event.

"Our graduates are prepared to make a difference, to stay safe, and protect their community. This makes them a valuable asset to their employers. I'm proud to see them start what I know will be an exciting, challenging, and promising career," said Lt. Harry McCann, Jr., Academy Instructor. At the beginning of the program only half of the 2011-008 class of the Law Enforcement Academy were employed, but upon graduation the majority of the graduating recruits are gainfully employed.

The Law Enforcement Academy is a fulltime, 17 week, paramilitary structured program designed to increase the training, knowledge, and understanding of the complex issues regarding law enforcement today. Recruits completing this program will gain, in addition to their P.O.S.T Basic Law Enforcement certification, 59 college credits towards an associate's degree in criminal justice. The Law Enforcement Academy is one of the State's first P.O.S.T certified Basic Mandate programs on a college campus with college credit.