The International Law Enforcement Officer and the FBI National Academy
| Author | Francis R. Dunphy,Judith B. Sutton |
| Published date | 01 October 1991 |
| Date | 01 October 1991 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X9106400411 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
FRANCIS R. DUNPHY,
FBI Academy
JUDITH
B. SUTTON,
University
of
Virginia
THE INTERNATIONAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER AND
THE FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY
As the world seems to become smaller and law enforcement more
diversified and complex, law enforcement agencies throughout the world
seek to broaden and improve their profession through global co-operation
and sharing. A means
of
sharing professional knowledge and resources is
through professional law enforcement schools which promote exchange
of faculty and students.
On an international level this is accomplished in several countries.
Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States are among
the countries who are developing or regularly sponsor programs which
include international law enforcement officers. In the United States, this
is implemented by the enrolment of international officers in the Federal
Bureau of Investigation's National Academy Program.
International officers have formed part of the National Academy
student body since 1938 and until recently have taken the identical
program offered to their U.S. counterparts. In 1988, a new course
specifically developed for these officers was added to the curriculum,
CJ359 Comparative United States Government Institutions. This article
will discuss the history, developmentand usefulness of the course, as well
as the unique needs of these officers.
History and Background
The first international officer to graduate from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation National Academy, then known as the FBI National Police
Training School, was R.M. Wood
of
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
on April 2, 1938, National Academy 7th Session. As of March 23, 1990,
1988 international law enforcement officers from 78 foreign countries
have successfully completed the National Academy program. Of these,
146 officers were from Canada.
The FBI National Academy was originally established in 1935 to
offer local U.S. law enforcement officers training, information and
methodology with the intent that they would share their training and assist
in developing training programs in their home departments. This was at
a time when local American police were mostly untrainedand were having
little effecton criminal gangs, such as those
of
Al Capone, John Dillinger
and "Ma" Barker. Foreign law enforcement officers then participated in
the same curriculum as the American officers and continued to do so
through the years
of
the Academy's development.
October 1991 345
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