Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Rowdy Paul, left, and classmates, look on after graduating from North Idaho College’s Basic Patrol Academy on Thursday, May 4 at the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room in the Edminster Student Union Building on NIC’s Coeur d’Alene campus.
Sometimes a class is more than a classroom. It may involve hands-on training like handling firearms, driving through high-speed courses or getting tased. At least, that’s the case at North Idaho College’s 16-week Basic Patrol Academy.
NIC held a graduation ceremony for 12 Basic Patrol Academy students on Thursday, May 4 at the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room in the Edminster Student Union Building on NIC’s Coeur d’Alene campus.
The ceremony featured speakers from law enforcement and NIC, including NIC President Nick Swayne, Basic Patrol Academy Coordinator Jeremy Hyle, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris, Idaho State Police Chaplin Sara Garrison and Basic Patrol Academy Class President Ian MacArthur.
The NIC Basic Patrol Academy is designed in a paramilitary academy format and accredited by the Idaho Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. Class meets five days a week for eight or more hours per day.
“We have a very professional staff,” Swayne said. “We aspire to be the best law enforcement training staff in the state of Idaho.”
This semester, the Basic Patrol Academy also trained alongside the first class of NIC’s Basic Detention Academy, which held its graduation in March.
“I adamantly believe this trend should continue,” MacArthur said. “While (the Detention Academy) was with us, we were able to become a family and work well together. … We now know we have friendly faces to see when we stop by the public safety building, and I truly believe this will only bring these two parts of law enforcement closer together.”
Graduate Shayla Walton said her family has made careers in law enforcement, and after working 10 years in the health care industry, she decided to try the career path herself. She said she was amazed by the quality of education offered through the academy.
Approximately 50 law enforcement experts teach more than 60 topics, sharing knowledge with students through skills training and scenario-based training in the classroom and the field.
“The instructors are passionate and encouraging in the subjects they teach,” Walton said. “There’s so much that goes into this; I don’t understand how they packed as much as they did into it.”
North Idaho College offers three levels of certification in law enforcement, including a Basic Technical Certificate – which is awarded upon completion of the Basic Patrol Academy – an Intermediate Technical Certificate and an Associate of Applied Science Degree.
For more information, contact Law Enforcement Administrative Assistant Abby Owens at Abigail.Owens@nic.edu or (208) 665-4522.
NIC Basic Patrol graduates back row from left, Ian MacArthur, John Galloway, Shayla Walton, Kevin Slover and Laurel Tena. Front row, Francis Maziarski, Dylan Smith, Joshua Smith, Antares Boni, Michael Phillips, Jonathan Crodle and Rowdy Paul.