On the firing range, law officers in training are tested on their ability to hit a target.
Two graduates of the Rogers State University Collegiate Officer Program (COP) hit the bullseye of the proverbial “target,” when both achieved near-flawless scores – 96 percent – on their recent Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement and Education and Training (CLEET) Peace Officer Qualification Exam.
Amanda Haus of Sand Springs and Jacob Marsh of Springfield, Mo. typify the caliber of students and prospective law officers that complete the RSU COP program, an academic partnership with the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement.
“Rogers State University is one of seven colleges or universities partnered with CLEET which provide a program of academic and CLEET skills education and training in lieu of the CLEET academy,” said Rob Turner, instructor, COP director and advisor. “RSU COP Option students are required to complete academic courses and CLEET skills – firearms, custody and control, law enforcement driver training, legal block including Native American law, RADAR and standardized field sobriety testing.
“RSU students who graduate with either an Associate of Arts in criminal justice studies with the COP Option degree or a Bachelor of Science in justice administration with COP Option degree are then able to take the CLEET Peace Officer Qualification exam,” he continued. “Each student must pass with a minimum of 80 percent proficiency, which Amanda and Jacob scored well beyond, both of them finishing with an almost perfect score.”
RSU COP graduates who pass the CLEET Peace Officer Qualification Exam may be hired by a law enforcement agency who may request that the prospective officer be a CLEET Certified Peace Officer. RSU COP graduates work at regional agencies such as the RSU Police, Claremore Police Department, Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Nowata County Sheriff’s Office, Broken Arrow Police Department, Tulsa Police Department, Owasso Police Department, Nowata Police Department, Grove Police Department, Pryor Police Department, Sand Springs Police Department, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, among others.
Haus has been working as a detention officer in the Amos G. Ward Detention Facility in Claremore and, upon completion of her CLEET exam, will be promoted to deputy sheriff at the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office.
Marsh was recently interviewed for a position with the Claremore Police Department.
“We’re very proud of these RSU COP graduates and certainly wish them much success,” Turner said.
CLEET is the agency designated by the State of Oklahoma legislature to certify training and qualification of peace officers in Oklahoma. CLEET conducts a 16-week academy in Ada, Oklahoma, three or four times each year. Each class includes about 50 individuals who must first be employed by a law enforcement agency and then be admitted into the 16-week CLEET Academy. The academy consists of 640 hours of classroom and hands on skills training. Students may complete RSU’s COP degree options in lieu of attending the CLEET academy.
For more information about RSU COPS or RSU’s Criminal Justice studies programs, visit www.rsu.edu/TJS.