Jourdain graduates from Basic Police Officer Training Program in New Mexico

Red Lake Police Officer, Justin Jourdain, graduated from the Basic Police Officer Training Program at Artesia, New Mexico on April 5, 2012.

He was one of twelve graduates from a class that started with 24 students, 17 weeks ago in December 2011.

According to Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) website, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES), Indian Police Academy (IPA) is the preeminent national law enforcement training academy for Federal and Tribal law enforcement programs in Indian Country. The mission of the IPA is to develop and provide law enforcement training and technical assistance to Federal and Tribal law enforcement organizations and their personnel. All training programs are designed to meet Indian Country law enforcement standards, employee development, and organizational improvement.

The IPA is now co-located with the Department of Homeland Security at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico. Academy staff provide basic police, criminal investigation, and detention coursework. In addition, the academy offers numerous advanced training courses such as child abuse investigation procedures, community policing, use of force, firearms instruction, archeological resource protection, police management and supervision, crime scene processing, detention, and dispatcher training courses for both tribal and Bureau law enforcement officers.

All IPA training programs are predicated upon maintaining the highest standards, honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. These concepts incorporate the community policing elements of developing partnerships, problem solving, and organizational improvement. The IPA is a progressive training organization that promotes innovative adult learning techniques that will allow students to achieve their personal and organizational goals and objectives.

During the graduation ceremony, former Red Lake Captain of Police, Gary Jourdain Sr., who is Justin's father, had the honor of pinning the badge on his son during the ceremony. Gary had graduated from the Indian Police Academy 33 years ago in 1979.

Justin will have about a week off once he returns home, before hitting the streets of Red Lake again.

Charles Martin Jr. is scheduled to graduate from the 6-week Basic Corrections Officer Training Program today, before he returns to the Red Lake Department of Corrections.

History of the Indian Police Academy

Prior to 1968, availability of police training for tribal officers was extremely limited. While a few state police training academies granted access to BIA and tribal officers, there was a long wait. At the federal level, candidates faced a wait of up to three years for admission to the FBI academy. Consequently, actual job experience and on-the-job training, supplemented with limited formal in-service instruction, were the dominant forms of Indian law enforcement training and education. These limitations precluded effective, professional law enforcement services from reaching the Indian people.

The U.S. Indian Police Training and Research Center had its beginning as the U.S. Indian Police Academy established at Roswell, New Mexico, on the site of a former Air Force base on December 17, 1968. The program was designed for the training of both Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and tribal law enforcement officers, qualified potential Indian Police Officers, and other law enforcement personnel working on or near Indian reservations. The basic program was soon expanded to provide specialized training on as needed basis for police officers, supervisors and managers, juvenile officers, criminal investigators, and jail personnel. By 1971, the Academy was involved in assisting and/or conducting field in-service training as necessary for specialized subjects through short duration training sessions.

The Academy was operated during this period by the Bureau’s division of Judicial, Prevention and Enforcement Services, through a contract with the Thiokol Chemical Corporation. Fiscal Administration was provided by a resident coordinator from the Employment Assistance Division of the Office of Community Services while Thiokol administered the program with instructional staff drawn from local, state, federal and tribal agencies, as well as universities and private firms.

In 1973, the functions of the Police Academy were relocated to the Inter-mountain Inter-tribal School campus, Brigham City, Utah, as an operation of BIA’s Central Office, Division of Law Enforcement Services. The Division of Law and Order, Research and Statistical Unit, established in 1970 at Pierre, South Dakota was also reassigned to the Brigham City campus and the two units were combined as the Center for U.S. Indian Police Training and Research. In 1979, the Center was removed from the Division of Law Enforcement Services and assigned to the Office of Technical Assistance and Training.

On October 15, 1984, the Academy opened in Marana, Arizona under auspices of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

In January 1993, the Academy relocated to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, the present location of the Bureau of Indian Affairs – United States Indian Police Academy.

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Website: http://www.fletc.gov/