Career Links Vol 2 No 1 September 2002
Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve:
An Interview with Dr. Jerry Wolfskill,
Academic Director of JCCC's
Regional Police Academy
By Kit Gorrell,
Employment Systems Technician,
Career Services Center
Editor’s Note: In each edition of Career Links, we provide career
information related to JCCC’s career and certificate programs, including
an interview with an expert in the featured career.
You can talk to Dr. Wolfskill about what it is like being a police
officer, and he will put you in contact with the officers at the Police
Academy. If you would like more information about the JCCC Regional
Police Academy, visit their Web site at: http://http://www.jccc.net/home/depts.php/1216/
or contact Dr. Wolfskill by e-mail at jwolfski@jccc.edu or by telephone at
(913) 469-8500 ext. 3171. You may also contact Larry Drake, Ext. 4650;
Brent Groves, Ext. 4662; Denis Plumly, Ext. 4654; Melody Rayl, Ext. 4653
or Rick Staples, Ext. 4663.
“Enter to learn, go forth to serve,” is the motto of the Regional Police
Academy at JCCC. It’s a motto that the 1,500 graduates of the program
live every day as police officers. It’s Dr. Jerry Wolfskill’s job to see
that they are ready to do so. Wolfskill is the academic director of the
Johnson County Regional Police Academy at JCCC. Under his direction, law
enforcement personnel from 31 police agencies (17 of which are in Johnson
County) are trained.
Dr. Wolfskill has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree
in criminal justice administration, both from Central Missouri State
University, and a doctorate in higher education administration and
psychology from the University of Kansas.
Jerry’s experiences in becoming a cop took some interesting turns. Here’s
his story:
Career Services Center: Jerry, tell me about your career path and
how you started out.
Dr. Jerry Wolfskill: My dad owned an engineering company when I
was a kid. I was the only boy and the oldest in the family. Naturally,
he wanted me to work in the family business and eventually take it over,
but I really wasn’t interested in engineering. I thought I wanted to be a
psychiatrist, so I got my bachelor’s degree, went to work in the field, and
started on my master’s.
I became somewhat disillusioned with psychiatry, and saw an ad in the
paper for the Overland Park Police Department. They paid $100 extra per
month if you had a college degree. They were willing to pay for any
advanced education; and I had just finished my master’s degree and was
going to get my doctorate.
When I was a kid, I had bad experiences with the police. If you were a
kid and had a car, you were stopped all the time. They’d make you get out
of the car, put your hands on the hood, and then they would search your car
looking for alcohol, drugs, etc. So my experiences were bad, but I thought
that if they were going to pay for my education, I would go ahead and work
there long enough to get my doctorate; then I’d do something else. I went
to work there and found out that there are good cops, bad cops and
in-between cops. I really became pretty interested in what they were
doing and found it was a lot more professional than [the perception I had
as a] kid.
Once I was hired, I was a patrol officer for two years. I worked in
personnel, and then became a detective. It was probably the best job I
ever had. In 1976, the director of the police academy got sick and I
came out and ran two straight police academies, in 1976 and 1977.
Next, I had the opportunity to go to the Department of Justice in
Washington. I worked for the federal government for three years; then in
1980 I had the opportunity to return and run the police academy again.
CSC: What is the program like at the Regional Police Academy?
JW: There are three classes a year, with about 20 students per
class. In-service training is also provided for the more than 1500 police
officers throughout Johnson County. The facility is state of the art, where
each student is assigned a laptop computer to use during their 14 weeks of
training.
CSC: How do you get admitted to the Police Academy?
JW: In the state of Kansas, you can’t enter the police academy on
your own. You have to be hired by a police agency and then be sent to the
academy for 14 weeks of training. Training occurs five days a week for
eight hours a day or more, with weekends off. You are paid a full salary
plus the fees for the 12 college-credit hours during the program by the
police department. After finishing the academy, you have a 16-18 week
training period with another officer before you are out on your own.
CSC: What are the general requirements for becoming a police
officer?
JW: The requirements for an individual to become a police officer
include:
- Be at least 21 years of age.
- Fill out an application. (Dr. Wolfskill encourages you to complete applications with as many police departments as possible because in Johnson County alone, there are typically 50-100 applications for every vacancy.)
- Participate in a complete background investigation. (This may take 4-5 months.)
- Pass a polygraph test and drug screen.
- Take the Civil Service Interview.
- Complete a battery of tests with a psychiatrist or psychologist.
- Pass a pre-employment exam, which may include a timed obstacle course.
CSC: What educational backgrounds and skills are best?
JW: Most candidates have a 4-year degree, although it is not
required. Majors may include not only criminal justice, but computer
science, psychology, sociology, social work or accounting.
Report writing is an important part of the job. Your reports will be
evaluated and scrutinized by your supervisor (field sergeant), watch
commander (lieutenant or captain), prosecuting attorneys, defense
attorneys, judge, crime victims and defendants. And, because it’s open
record, the press has access to it as well. Consequently, you are judged
by how well you can write.
CSC: Jerry, what kinds of jobs can people have with a background
in law enforcement?
JW: [Most people] start out as a patrol officer working the
street. Some are assigned to the jail if they are hired by the sheriff’s
office. With almost every police agency, you’ll be on the street as a
patrol officer. With a background in law enforcement you can also be a
school resource officer or a traffic officer who usually works injury
accidents. You can be a member of a motorcycle unit, a K-9 (canine) unit,
a crime prevention unit or even dispatch. The bigger the department, the
more specialty units there are.
CSC: What advice do you have for individuals interested in this
profession?
JW: Be sure this is what you want to do. Some people will quit or
not make it through the [training] program because they think they [won’t
be able to] sleep if they work at night, even though there is more
happening during that [shift]. They may decide they just don’t want to do
it, or their spouse doesn’t want them to. People want weekends and
holidays off. A lot of departments bid (for shifts) based on seniority.
If you’ve been there 10 years, you’re probably going to get a pretty good
shift—days if you want.
[To get a realistic idea of police work] participate in a ride-along
program at a local police department. Overland Park, Olathe and Shawnee
all have Citizens’ Academies, and Olathe just implemented a Teen Academy.
Sit down with a police officer that has been on the street for a while and
let them give you the ups and downs of being in policing, so you’ll know up
front [what to expect]. Don’t let TV be your guide to getting in police
work. I don’t remember anyone showing writing reports, going to an
autopsy, or standing at I-435 and Metcalf directing traffic on a Chief’s
Sunday when it’s 10 degrees below zero.
You [may also] want to pick a city that’s growing, because if they’re
growing, there is usually more chance for advancement. The larger the
department is, the more people that are likely to be retiring.
CSC: What makes a good police officer?
JW: You have to be patient, observant, compassionate, and
gracious. You can’t be easily offended because some people don’t like
authority figures. If you can’t take that and handle it and be gracious
and business-like, you don’t need to be in law enforcement. Being able to
write and express yourself verbally is important. You have to respect the
dignity of people, no matter what they have done. If someone kills
someone else, you need to treat that person with dignity; even though you
may think what they did was a despicable act. You can’t let your personal
feelings interfere with the way you treat people. And if you can’t do that,
you shouldn’t be a cop. You have to have a positive attitude in spite of
things that don’t go your way.
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