BLET

Campers to Crime Solvers

This past summer, area youth enjoyed a three-day immersion experience focused on criminal justice. Montgomery Community College’s “Mystery on the LEGEND Express” summer camp was presented in partnership with Montgomery County Schools and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. The first day began with a visit to Montgomery County’s 911 Communication Center. The group also received a full-blown tour of the Montgomery County court house, which included time observing superior court and civil court proceedings. Judges, clerks and attorneys told campers about their careers, how they became interested in public service and answered student questions. Day one wrapped up with a trip to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office where they engaged

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MCC Celebrates BLET Graduates

Ten Basic Law Enforcement Training students celebrated their graduation from MCC’s BLET program on the evening of May 8, 2023. Madison Nicole Atkins, Lena Joann Buchanan, Brandon Storm Cox, Shenea Olivia Dumas, Austin James Forro, Brandie Carole Jenett Hutchison, Patrick Tyler Mabe, Gregory Harvey Morris, Christian Marie Soles and Alison May Sweet received their certificates of completion with family members, friends, college administration and trustees in attendance. BLET Program Director Jeff Dorsett, in his first year in the role with the College, welcomed sponsoring agencies, law enforcement guests, instructors, volunteers and alumni of the program dating back to 1977. “This year’s class is exceptional,” said Dorsett. “Their test scores and

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A Family Called to Serve

James Atkins, Police Chief for the Town of Troy, North Carolina is teaching at Montgomery Community College tonight, as he has off and on for the last 18 years. MCC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program runs September through April, with a minimum of 660 hours of classroom time. Successful BLET students master 36 separate topics from physical fitness, crime scene investigation, first responder, testifying in court, human trafficking, constitutional law and more. Tonight, Atkins is teaching a section on crime prevention. The class is designed to help BLET students educate citizens on steps they can take to keep homes, businesses and themselves from becoming targets of criminal activity. MCC’s

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MCC’s BLET Program Transitions Leadership

Effective August 31, 2022, Montgomery Community College bade farewell to its Basic Law Enforcement Director Pete Herron. Herron has piloted the college’s BLET program since 2013, with an initial graduating class of two students, with cohorts in recent years numbering in the teens and twenties. Pete Herron was elected Sheriff of Montgomery County in May 2023. Jeff Dorsett will assume Herron’s duties as program director. Dorsett has been a BLET instructor for MCC since 2016, acting as Herron’s assistant since 2019. Dorsett has been a Montgomery County Magistrate in Troy, NC for the past seven years, and prior to that appointment served in various law enforcement capacities for both Moore

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MCC Celebrates BLET Graduates

Eight Basic Law Enforcement Training students celebrated their graduation from MCC’s BLET program on the evening of May 3, 2022.  Jason Cranford, Rosie Garcia, Evan Grady, Ashley Hogan, Chris Maness, Brandon Moore, Samuel Richardson and Leslie Wright received their certificates of completion with family members, friends, college administration and trustees in attendance. BLET Program Director Pete Herron, in his seventh year with the College, welcomed sponsoring agencies, law enforcement guests, instructors, volunteers and alumni of the program dating back to 1977. “This year’s class is exceptional,” said Herron. “Their test scores and performance are among the highest we have ever seen, and we are very proud of their accomplishments.” In

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New Leader for MCC Health & Public Safety Program

MCC’s Health & Public Safety Program has a new director. Greg Taylor, former director of the College’s institutional effectiveness efforts, has moved to oversee the health and safety initiatives within the Continuing Education Department. Programs under Taylor’s purview include Emergency Medical Service (EMS) including Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT); Healthcare Careers including Nurse Aide, Pharmacy Technician and Phlebotomy; and Public Safety Education in-service and specialty training for Law Enforcement, Correctional Officers and Firefighters. Taylor has decades of experience in the fields of firefighting, rescue squad, emergency medical services, disaster response and law enforcement. He graduated Basic Law Enforcement Training at MCC

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With Renovations Complete, MCC Welcomes New Academic Program

Improvements to “Building 500” on the Montgomery Community College Campus are finished, heralding the arrival of the College’s newest academic program, a Public Safety Administration degree. Public safety administration is the study of disaster relief, response, preparedness and recovery. The Public Safety Administration program will be offered at the degree, diploma and certificate level. Department of Public Safety employees who complete initial and continuing education training at MCC (1,000 students annually) will earn college credit through the program. “This new program is truly flexible,” explains Andrew Gardener, Dean of the Department of Continuing Education at MCC. “Our Department of Public Safety students can earn a degree, and there is also

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BLET Director Herron Recognized with Scholarship

On April 26th, in the company of 15 graduates, Basic Law Enforcement Training Program Director Pete Herron got a surprise. Mid-way through his cohort’s graduation ceremony, one graduate, Taylor Graves, stepped to the podium to announce a scholarship had been established in Pete Herron’s name in recognition of his decades-long service to law enforcement and to the students who choose to pursue this career. “Here is a person who throughout their career has taken the time to help hundreds of students realize their potential, no matter how long it takes,” Graves recounted. “Pete Herron believes in people, and clearly he believes in second chances. He is exactly the kind of

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MCC’s BLET Class is Driving in Style

Candidates of Montgomery Community College’s largest Basic Law Enforcement Training class spend 40 hours in the law enforcement driver training portion of their curriculum, and now they will enjoy doing so in newly-designed vehicles. The BLET program’s Dodge Chargers underwent a facelift this spring, sporting new wraps featuring the College logo. Law enforcement driving-related accidents are one of the leading causes of injury and death for officers; around 200 officers are killed in car accidents every year. Because officers spend a lot of time in patrol cars, knowing how to drive professionally makes all the difference. During MCC’s 40 hours of driving instruction, students review the principles of defensive driving

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MCC to Teach Detention Officer Certification Course

The North Carolina Sheriff’s Education and Training Standards Commission has approved Montgomery Community College to deliver its 174-hour Detention Officer Certification Course. The college’s accreditation became effective March 16, 2021, and the school is making plans to admit its first cohort of officers on June 7, 2021. The 174-hour course, which is taught over a five week period, is delivered in four units: the legal unit, the physical unit, the practical application unit and the medical unit. Detention Officer candidates will master a wide range of competencies including management, supervision, rules and regulations, ethics, patrol and security, key and tool control, transportation and processing of inmates, suicide and crisis management,

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