The first officer to undergo the new Leitchfield Police Department’s intensive two-week training regimen has graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) academy.
Caden Jennings, 23, graduated from the academy on Thursday following two weeks of in-house training at LPD headquarters, four weeks of DOCJT training on a computer at LPD headquarters and 16 weeks of preparation and training at the DOCJT academy in Richmond.
“Today is Caden’s graduation from DOCJT Basic Training and he has performed phenomenally throughout his time at Richmond,” LPD said in a social media post. “We welcome him back to us and look forward to his career with us at Leitchfield Police Department.”
In a playful swipe at the rookie, referencing Jennings hitting a deer on his way home from Richmond several weeks ago, LPD added, “Stay safe, watch your 6 (back), and watch for deer Caden.”
LPD’s new, in-house training regimen
The Leitchfield Police Department’s new, in-house training regimen provides education on “gun care, firearm training, taser training, legal training, and community-oriented training,” LPD Assistant Chief Ian Renfrow previously told K105.
The community-oriented aspect of the training is intended to instruct new recruits how to most effectively connect with members of the Leitchfield community.
“We want these recruits to learn how to communicate with our community and get to know the people they are working with,” Renfrow stated.
Additionally, the previous training process placed new recruits in a cruiser in full uniform with another officer prior to the recruit attending the academy. Those days are over.
The mantra at LPD is earn the right to be a police officer.
“Instead of a young man coming in and immediately putting a uniform on and getting in a car with another officer and doing ride-alongs; that’s what we did in the past. Instead of doing that, they are going to be wearing a polo (shirt) and khakis. They will not wear a class A uniform with a patch on it until after they graduate the academy.
“They will learn what it’s like to work and earn the position,” Renfrow said. “And we want to stress to them that this isn’t a job. This is a calling, this is a lifestyle that they have to adopt, and that we work in a community that has asked us to serve.”
Providing the new recruits with a structured environment from Day 1 is also a key component of the new training experience.
“We’re also going to go over financial decisions and retirement (planning); personal life and ethics decisions; use of force situations,” according to Renfrow. We’re going to teach them the computer processes we use, all prior to them going to the academy, to start them with some structure that we haven’t had in the past.”
Many times, young officers are erroneously fixated on what they perceive to be the excitement of the job; the adventure, the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of the capture. But that mindset is being pushed back to the peanut gallery by LPD’s new training standards.
“They’re not here to be super-cop, they’re not here to lead in arrests. They are here to serve the community that they live in,” Renfrow emphasized.
(Photo l-r: LPD Officer Brian Jennings, new LPD Officer Caden Jennings, LPD Chief David Riley)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
