Monique Cotton, Public Information and Communication Director, Spokane Police Departme, No Phone Number Available
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 9:37 a.m.
This week marks a milestone for the Spokane Police Department. For the first time since 2008, the Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) is being held in Spokane.
The Spokane Police Department and the City of Spokane have strengthened their partnership with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) to re-establish the Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy in eastern Washington. The BLEA is currently being held at the Spokane Police Academy. 30 candidates from throughout the state are attending class in Spokane now through mid-May. Prior to the re-establishment of the Spokane BLEA, the sole BLEA was held in Burien, WA.
Having the BLEA in Spokane provides the opportunity to develop skilled community guardians, right in our own backyard, establishing critical trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.
Training is a focus of the recently released Collaborative Reform Report by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (C.O.P.S.) program. The Department of Justice C.O.P.S. recommendations – which the Spokane Police Department and the City of Spokane fully support – repeatedly reference the importance of training. Having the BLEA in Spokane is one of many steps the Spokane Police Department is taking to make the recommendations a reality.
The following agencies have students enrolled in the Spokane BLEA:
