POTEAU, Okla. – The Workforce and Economic Development Center at Kiamichi Tech - Poteau is meeting training
needs for local law enforcement by offering a Basic Peace Officer Certification (BPOC) Academy projected to begin
Fall 2021. The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) approved Kiamichi Tech’s
application for the training at its Council meeting on Jan. 27.
“Currently, local law enforcement departments have to wait, sometimes up to a year, before they are able to send a
commissioned officer to the state’s CLEET training program in Ada,” said Poteau Police Chief Stephen Fruen. “This
Academy will give cadets the opportunity to train closer to home without the wait period.”
The program will welcome 10 commissioned cadets in its first class this fall. The Academy is a four-and-a-half
month program covering all facets of law enforcement education from driver training and firearms safety to defensive
tactics and criminal investigations.
“In addition to the 588 training hours CLEET requires for basic peace officers, our BPOC academy will include
additional training time and certifications officers in our area need to be workforce-ready,” said Shannen Hamby,
Workforce and Economic Development Coordinator at Kiamichi Tech. “We made the decision to increase training
hours for our program in response to real-world events and input from regional law enforcement agencies.”
Kiamichi Tech has named Billy Hooper with the Poteau Police Department as director of the BPOC Academy.
Hooper will work closely with Kiamichi Tech Workforce and Economic Development Coordinators and a committee
of regional law enforcement leaders to oversee the program.
“By bringing this training program to our region, Kiamichi Tech will play a pivotal role in the workforce development
of this sector,” said Shelley Free, Kiamichi Tech Superintendent. “We understand the importance of public safety and
are committed to establishing high-quality training for this essential workforce in the Kiamichi Tech District.”
Hamby and Hooper are working closely with area law enforcement departments to understand the industry’s specific
needs and to ensure the training offered through the Kiamichi Tech Academy will produce the highest caliber of
officers in the region.
“There has been tremendous community support for the Academy,” said Hooper. “We have all been blown away with
the community businesses who stepped up to support the program initially, and all the local departments who have
pledged their support for this new program.”
For more information about the Basic Peace Officer Certification Academy, contact the Workforce and Economic
Development Center at 918-647-4525 or email trainingpoteau@ktc.edu.
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