Career Development Certificate

CAREER DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATE

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana Northeast

And the

Allen County, Indiana Police Department Canine Training Division

I. Rationale

A. The Allen County Police Department is looking for the opportunity to allow officers to receive college credit and college recognition for attending its Police K9 Academy. The intense 14 week K9 Academy includes an 80-hour classroom portion with the remainder devoted to physically intense fieldwork. The Academy covers diverse education topics that are required by law enforcement and directly apply to the criminal justice field.

1. The State of Indiana provides basic and some advanced training through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) and other Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board approved sites.

2. Many other states in the country utilize their Community Colleges to provide their POST (Police Officer Standards and Training) training.

3. The “CDC” partnership between Ivy Tech Community College Northeast and the Allen County Police Department Canine Training Division will be somewhat unique in that we have been able to identify only one other affiliation in the United States, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, North Carolina, with academic recognition of a specialized police training element.

A. Beneficiaries of the proposed association will include those Indiana law enforcement officers designated by their Department’s Chief or Sheriff as potential canine officers and have contacted the Allen County Sheriff’s Department Canine Training Division to provide the training. In addition, training will be offered, but not be limited to:

In-State and Out-of-State Sheriff’s Department K9 Teams
In-State and Out-of-State City/Town K9 Teams
In-State and Out-of-State State Police K9 Teams

II. Professional Qualifications

A. Canine Officer Credentials

Each officer must be employed full-time as a law enforcement officer in the State of Indiana and produce documentation to that end.
Each officer must have full arrest and investigatory authority in the State of Indiana.
Each officer must produce a copy of his or her Certificate of completion of the basic law enforcement course of instruction issued by the State of Indiana’s Law Enforcement Training Board.

B. Canine Trainer Credentials

The lead trainer must be designated as such by the Sheriff of Allen County.
The lead trainer shall be a certified Master Trainer by the International Police Work Dog Association.

C. Ivy Tech Faculty Credentials

The Ivy Tech Community College Northeast’s Criminal Justice Program Chair shall serve as the faculty contact.

III. Curriculum/Training Delivery

1. Technical training offered by the Canine Training Program includes, but is not limited to:

Man Tracking for the K9 Handler (6 Hours)
Narcotic Interdiction for the K9 Handler (6 Hour)
K9 Legal Update (6 Hours)
Record Keeping for the K9 Handler (3 Hours)
Firearms for the Police K9 Team (20 Hours)
E.O.D. and Suspicious Packages (8 Hours)
Emergency Vet Care (4 Hours)
K9 Report Overview and Testifying (4 Hours)
Preventing Repetitive Injuries and Physical Conditioning for the K9 Handler (4 Hours)
Miscellaneous Classroom Activities (16 Hours)

2. Academic instruction offered by Ivy Tech CC Criminal Justice includes:

CRIM 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice (3 Credits)
CRIM 110 Introduction to Law Enforcement (3 Credits)*
CRIM 111 Introduction to Traffic Enforcement And Investigation (3 Credits)*
CRIM 113 Criminal Investigation (3 Credits)*
CRIM 240 Criminal Law and Procedure (3 Credits)*
CRIM 280 Internship (4 Credits)*

(*) “Crosswalk” credits to be awarded upon completion of CRIM 101.

IV. Additional Considerations

1. Faculty credentialing is addressed under Professional Qualifications for both technical training and academic instruction.

2. Although subject to change, the title of the certification will be the “Police Canine Handler Career Development Certificate”.

3. It is believed that the CDC will be the encouragement needed to convince police officers awarded the certification to continue on to Ivy Tech Community College and complete work on an Associate’s degree.

The number of police canine training courses conducted annually by the Allen County Sheriff Department’s Canine Academy would govern projected enrollment.

Normally, up to two training courses are conducted annually with eight to twelve canine handlers in each session. The canine training division is not limited to a particular number per year.
Although out-of-state officers attend the canine academy, only Indiana officers will be eligible for the CDC. This limitation is placed on the program at the state level because crosswalk credit is only available for Indiana officers.

4. Nothing in this agreement shall preclude Ivy Tech Community College Northeast of forming other such arrangements with other police/Sheriff’s department canine training programs.

5. The ultimate decision concerning the granting of the “Police Canine Handler Career Development Certificate” rests with the Chancellor, Ivy Tech Community College, Fort Wayne.

V. Procedural Requirements

A. It is the responsibility of the officer desiring to obtain the CDC to notify the ACPD Canine Trainer so that he/she can notify Ivy Tech CC Northeast’s Criminal Justice Program Chair of possible CDC candidates.

1. In order to qualify for the CDC, the officer must successfully complete the canine academy and be certified as a Police Canine Handler by ACPD’s Master Canine Trainer.

A copy of the certification document must be provided to the Ivy Tech Community College Criminal Justice Program Chair

John Grannan, Assistant Professor
Criminal Justice Program Chair
Public Services Department Chair
Ivy Tech Community College Northeast
jgrannan@ivytech.edu
(260) 439-8382

The officer must then, if he/she has not already, apply and be admitted to Ivy Tech Community College and register as a Criminal Justice major.
Upon completion of CRIM 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice, the officer will be granted the additional sixteen “crosswalk credits” and be considered to have met all requirements to have the “Police Canine Handler Career Development Certificate” awarded to him/her.

2. Once Ivy Tech Community College Northeast receives the police canine certification document, the Indiana LETB law enforcement certification, and proof of completion of CRIM 101, the “Police Canine Handler Career Development Certificate” will be awarded to the officer.