FBI National Academy Prepares Chief

COURT HOUSE — Middle Township Police Department’s chiefs, retiring and incoming, share something special in law enforcement. Both are graduates of the FBI National Academy.
Retiring Chief Joseph Evangelista, a member of the 199th Session, graduated in December 1999. His replacement Lt. Christopher Leusner graduated Sept. 12, 2008 with the 234th Session.
Before them, former Chief Raymond Saunders was in Session 114; retired Capt. Wm. Scott Webster was in Session 187.
The prestigious school is held at the FBI Academy, Quantico, Va., and each section of officers has an FBI agent in their group.
Information flows both ways, from the FBI to the students as well as upward from the students to the FBI, something deemed beneficial to both.
“I found the experience to be the most rewarding one of my career thus far,” said Leusner. He noted that acceptance includes an application; interview and background check though the FBI.
“A very small percentage of applications are accepted,” he added.
“Two of the courses I took have come back to be very helpful,” said Evangelista. “One was on stress, which for police officers was called mental trauma. All the incidents we see and go through over the years build up and could cause mental and physical damage to the officer,” he added.
As captain and then chief, Evangelista realized he had to be “more aware of what my officers were going through and ensure they have good mental health care.” That could include counselors, if needed.
The second class he found most helpful dealt with budgets and grants. It gave him insight as to how best to obtain money through various channels, and how best to spend those dollars.
The soon-to-be chief looks forward to using the “best practices in police procedure and leadership,” as among his most memorable courses. Next was Applied Behavioral Sciences for Law Enforcement Operations.
Leusner said it “analyzed different types of crimes, their offenders and motivations, the victims and the characteristics surrounding the crime.”
“We learned best practices for different investigations, especially the decisions made in the first few hours after the crime is reported,” said Leusner.
Started in 1935 as a means to centralize law enforcement personnel training. First known as the FBI Police Training School, the National Academy has graduated 42,459 as of March 20, 2009. They include 39,212 from the U.S., 2,907 from other nations and 340 from U.S. territories and possessions.
Experiencing life with peers from around the nation and globe, as well as training in one of the world’s top law enforcement facilities knits graduates in a tight bond for the remainder of their careers.
The 10 classroom-hour week course covers a multitude of subjects including forensic science, understanding terrorism and terrorist mindsets and leadership development. Among challenges each trainee faces prior to graduation is the daunting “Yellow Brick Road,” a six-mile endurance test over hilly, wooded country on a Marine-built trail. Those who succeed there get a cherished yellow brick as a reminder and souvenir of their odyssey.
Evangelista said the National Academy had tri-fold importance for him.
First was “importance placed on attempting to stay in shape, of some sort, as the stress that builds up in this position, the physical can help you overcome some of the tension.”
Of the famed road, Evangelista said, “This was a very challenging course and I proudly display my brick.”
Second were the academics. It helped him earn 17 credits from the University of Virginia.
Third, and perhaps longest lasting, were the “contacts I made during my time at the academy.” He noted that he has used them to gain information, ask for help and give it also.
“There are no new problems, just problems that we have not seen. Sometimes the answers have been found, so instead of reinventing the wheel, I just ask,” said Evangelista.
To Evangelista, a Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran, “There is a certain amount of prestige in graduating and I am extremely proud of doing just that. It shows a dedicated spirit for an officer.”
Leusner’s time on the grueling road, “Was July to September, so the heat made it interesting to say the least.”
Benefits of the experience, he added, do not leave on graduation.
“My entire session, 250 police officers from around the world stay in touch through a Google e-mail group,” said Leusner. The group shares information on various topics.
“This extends to the entire network of National Academy graduates,” he said.
A book is published with all graduates and contact information.
“You pick up the phone and say you are a NA grad. It is like you went to Quantico with them in your session,” Leusner said.
“The network allows you to access some of the top-notch police personnel in the world on any number of issues that may be facing your department,” he added.
Among Leusner’s classmates, promoted since attendance at the Academy, is Mike Tooley, colonel of the Montana Highway Patrol.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com