Lt. John Jacobs of the University of Richmond Police Department will attend the FBI National Academy this summer where he hopes to build off his 19 years of service in the department, he said.
Jacobs said Police Chief David McCoy had put in an invitation for him to attend the academy. He was accepted to the program, which will run from April 1 to June 8 in Quantico, Va., following a physical, he said. The academy is an executive leadership school that includes five graduate classes and physical training, he said. About 250 officers from across the United States will be in attendance, he said.
"It's college level courses -- in leadership, in decision making, media relations -- all these things that are applicable to your daily activities," McCoy said. "A slot at the academy is highly sought after across the nation."
McCoy said he had chosen Jacobs, who serves as the department's accreditation manager and special events coordinator, because he would be a good choice to represent not only the police department, but also the University of Richmond.
"I'd like him to graduate No. 1 in his class, and he has the capability," said Capt. Howard Norton, the department's operations manager. "He's smart, energetic, still plenty young to get the job done and in good shape both mentally and physically."
Norton, who has been with the department since 1983 and originally hired Jacobs, said the university staff had sent one officer to the academy three years ago, and the skills she had learned there had helped her reach out into the surrounding area to gather information.
In Jacobs' 19 years in the department, he has accumulated numerous awards, including a life-saving award in 1999. When a student had been brought to shore after jumping in the lake, he performed CPR until the ambulance arrived, Jacobs said. He said he had taught CPR classes since 1981.
Before coming to the University of Richmond, he worked for five and half years in the City of Richmond third precinct as a patroller, he said.
"I came here when my daughter was born to take advantage longterm of the free tuition," he said. His daughter, whose name he withheld because he didn't think she'd want to be interviewed about her father, is now a freshman at the university.
Jacobs said the biggest difference between working for the university as opposed to the city was that the university was like a big family.
"We're here to make sure [the students] get through [their] four years of school safe," he said. "Out there, you're dealing with a lot of variety depending on where you worked in the city."
McCoy worked with Jacobs in the third precinct before coming to the university's department.
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"Here, we're just a support mechanism to help that four-year process to achieve success," McCoy said. "Our facet of that is feeling comfortable and safe on campus."
Contact staff writer David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu
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