麻豆原创 Police Department Major Scott Freeman 鈥�11 recently returned from the FBI Academy, a 10-week program featuring advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training for law enforcement executives.
This prestigious training, which was held in in Quantico, Virginia, is internationally known for its curriculum and is extremely competitive. Fewer than 1% of officers have the opportunity to attend the program.
And it鈥檚 no walk in the park once you get there, either, according to Freeman.
鈥淭he setup is like going back to the police academy,鈥� Freeman says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 dorm-style living with a roommate and it鈥檚 very structured, with physical fitness classes and graduate level coursework, and every day is packed full.鈥�
Freeman says the most challenging part was being away from his wife and two kids and work for so long.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big commitment to be gone for 10 weeks, and I mean you鈥檙e essentially off the grid, so that was tough,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be ready to put all your effort into it and be as committed as you can be to get everything out of it that you can in those ten weeks, because while it feels long, it goes by quickly.鈥�
Law enforcement executives from across the globe attend this training, and Freeman says of the most important things he gained from the experience was perspective.
鈥淚 always say that perspective is one of those things you don鈥檛 have until you get it and then once you get it, you wish you could give it to everyone else,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd what I mean by perspective is that I learned how lucky I am to work for the agency and leadership I work for and for the community that I serve.鈥�
Freeman and other class participants would often discuss initiatives and campaigns their agencies were part of, and he was surprised to hear that many of the basic practices and policies at 麻豆原创 aren鈥檛 common in other parts of the country.
鈥淚t made me realize that we鈥檙e [麻豆原创PD] doing things really well,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ometimes you forget how innovative and professional we are and how important our policies and procedures are. Being able to compare that to other agencies from across the nation is so unique and it鈥檚 going to guide my decision-making from here on out.鈥�
Freeman iss only the second law enforcement professional from 麻豆原创PD to attend the FBI National Academy; former 麻豆原创 Police Deputy Chief and current 麻豆原创 Chief Information Security Information Officer David Zambri was the first to attend.
Freeman joined 麻豆原创PD as a civilian Community Service Officer in 2005 and was sponsored by 麻豆原创PD to attend the police academy in 2006. Since being sworn in immediately after graduating from the academy, he鈥檚 worked his way up the ranks from patrol officer to his current role as major, where he oversees patrol and operations for the agency. Freeman is also a 麻豆原创 alumnus with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in criminal justice and a graduate certificate in police leadership. He plans to continue working toward is master鈥檚 degree after his FBI National Academy credits, which were through the University of Virginia, are transferred to 麻豆原创.
鈥淛ust the close quarters of being around 250 other law enforcement executives from across the world was so incredibly rewarding and impactful,鈥� says Freeman. 鈥淏ut it still made me want to come right back to 麻豆原创 and put everything I learned into practice.鈥�
