Chautauqua County Sheriff's Academy

Train in the Sheriff's Academy

Since 1978, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Academy has offered a unique program in partnership with JCC for those interested in careers as police officers. The training program provides successful graduates with up to 45 college credits and a certificate of completion from the New York State Certified Basic Police Training Course, which is a legal requirement for municipal police officers in New York State.

Most police agencies in New York state or any state honoring New York State Certified Basic Training Courses may hire a graduate of the Sheriff’s Academy and be able to put their new employee to work immediately with little additional local training.

The program is operated in a two-semester system. Upon completion of 45 college credits, a student is eligible to earn a certificate in law enforcement technology from JCC. All credits earned in the certificate can be applied toward the A.A.S. Individual Studies degree.

The program begins in August each year on the Jamestown Campus. This full-time (generally 35 hours per week, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) training experience continues until mid-March. Following successful completion of the classroom training, recruits will then be required to complete 160 hours of supervised field training before they can graduate.

You will receive over 900 classroom hours both in lecture and lab classes.

Graduation normally takes place in June for those recruits that have met all requirements. Holiday breaks generally follow the college calendar.

Completion of the Sheriff's Academy program does not guarantee continued employment.

Courses:

  • CRI 1370: Radar/LIDAR Operator (2 credits)
  • CRI 1390: Breath Analysis (2 credits)
  • CRI 2250: Law Enforcement Academy I (10 credits)
  • CRI 2260: Law Enforcement Academy II (6 credits)
  • CRI 2380: Law for the Law Enforcement Officer (3 credits)
  • CRI 2420: Standardized Field Sobriety (3 credits)
  • CRI 2470: Law Enforcement Practicum (4 credits)
  • PHE 2460: Physical Education for the Law Enforcement Officer (2 credits)
  • PHE 2470: Defensive Tactics for Law Enforcement (2 credits)
  • SPA 1530: Spanish for Law Enforcement (1 credit)

A medical screening examination (about $235.00) and psychological screening (about $250.00) are part of the entrance requirements to be paid by the applicant. The medical and psychological profiling fees are upfront costs for services and are nonrefundable. Completing these stages does not guarantee acceptance into the academy.

Once accepted into the Academy, estimated costs for the entire course are about $9,500*. This includes tuition, books, uniforms, and lab fees. Eligible students may apply for federal and state grants, student loans, and scholarships through JCC.

Tuition and lab fees are due and to be paid in full at the beginning of each semester. Students who do not pay their tuition and lab fees will not be credited with course hours and therefore will not receive their academy certification.

*Costs are subject to change.

Recruit spotlight: Yvette Perez

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Academy has awarded academy recruit Yvette Perez with the Dan Feather Memorial Scholarship worth $1,200. Yvette is attending the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Academy at JCC. She graduated from Dunkirk High School (class of 2018) and graduated from JCC with an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice with high honors in December 2021. Yvette was accepted into the Sheriff’s Academy in August 2022.

From left to right in the attached photo: Sgt. Raechel Waid (Sheriff’s Academy director), recruit Yvette Perez (recipient), and Verna Feather (widow of Dan Feather).

Sgt. Raechel Waid, Recruit Yvette Perez, and Verna Feather stand together, holding scholarship check