Purpose

The Law Enforcement A.A.S. degree program provides education and training for students planning careers in federal, state, or local law enforcement.  The Law Enforcement Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) program offers students the opportunity to focus on one of two options.  The first option, the Basic Peace Officer option, is for those students seeking to graduate with an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement and from the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy to prepare for the TCLEOSE Texas Peace Officer Exam.  The second option, Correctional Systems.  Law Enforcement is a Tech Prep Program.

Program of Study

ENHANCED SKILLS CERTIFICATE

    Students who have completed the degree plan for Associate in Applied Science - Law Enforcement are eligible to continue into the Enhanced Skills Certificate
     program consisting of a fifth semester of college work.

    Students not receiving advanced-placement credit in an articulated Tech Prep secondary program must take this bridging course and must do so before it is
    required as a prerequisite.

    Enrollment subject to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) rules including criminal history check. Scroll down to view
    TCLEOSE rules.

Tech Prep Students

Registered Tech Prep students who take equivalent courses while in high schools may make the following substitutions for the Associate of Applied Science degree:

CJSA 1322 for CRIJ 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice

CJSA 1312 for CRIJ 1307 Crime in America

CJSA 1313 for CRIJ 1306 The Courts and Criminal Procedure 

 CJSA 1327 for CRIJ 1310 Fundamentals of Criminal Law                                                                                                        

Recommended Courses for Law Enforcement Technical Electives

Recommended law enforcement technical electives may be chosen from the following courses:

CJCR 1300 - Basic Jail Course

CJLE 1303 - Basic Telecommunication Certification

CJSA 1302 - Private Security Officer Training

Students enrolling in CJLE 2420, CJLE 2421, CJLE 2522, and/or CJCR 1300 must comply with TCLEOSE rules including specifically Rule 215.40 below. Failure to comply may result in removal from the course.

215.40. Enrollment Standards and Training Credit (TCLEOSE)

(A) In order for a person to enroll in any law enforcement training program which provides instruction in defensive tactics, arrest procedures, firearms, or use of a motor vehicle for law enforcement purposes, the academy must have on file

        (1) written documentation that the person is currently licensed by the commission; or

        (2) if the person is not licensed by the commission, documentation that the person:
                    (a) has been fingerprinted and subjected to a search of local, state and national records and fingerprint files to disclose any criminal
                          record;
                    (b) has never been convicted at any time of a felony offense, is not currently on probation or court-ordered community supervision 
                         subsequent to being charged with a felony, and has never been convicted of barratry;
                    (c) is not prohibited by state or federal law from operating a motor vehicle; and
                    (d) is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

(B) For the purposes of this section, the commission will construe any court-ordered community supervision, probation or conviction for a criminal offense to be its closest equivalent under the Texas Penal Code classification of offenses if the offense arose from

      (1) another penal provision of Texas law; or

      (2) a penal provision of any other state, federal, military or foreign jurisdiction.

(C) A classification of an offense as a felony at the time of the conviction will never be changed because Texas law has changed or because the offense would not be a felony under current Texas law.

(D) The commission will award training credit for any course conducted by a licensed academy as provided by commission rules unless:

       (1) the course is not taught as required by commission rules and the advisory board; or

       (2) the training is not related to a commission license; or

       (3) the advisory board, the academy, the academy coordinator, the course coordinator, or the instructor substantially failed to discharge
            any responsibility required by a commission rule.

(E) The enrollment standards established in this section do not preclude the academy license holder from establishing additional requirements or standards for enrollment in law enforcement training programs.

(F) The effective date of this section is September 1, 1997.

Students graduating from a Basic Peace Officer training program conducted by a TCLEOSE approved Law Enforcement Academy will receive the following credits:

Law Enforcement Advanced Placement Policy

In addition, students who have completed the TCLEOSE Law Enforcement Academy course in "Basic Jail Guard" and/or "Telecommunications Operator" will receive the following credits:

In order to receive credit, the applicant must:

1. Provide appropriate documentation to the Technical Education Director indicating successful completion of TCLEOSE courses and/or licensed peace officer work experience.

2. Earn at least six hours of credit at Southwest Texas Junior College.

 A student who has completed all coursework for the AAS Law Enforcement degree except for one or more "Texas Peace Officer" courses (CJLE 2420 Texas Peace Officer Procedures, CJLE 2421 Texas Peace Officer Law, and CJLE 2522 Texas Peace Officer Skills) may apply to complete one or more of these courses by attending the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy under special arrangement. To begin the application process, the student should contact a counselor or the Technical Education Director.

Endorsement Course(s)

A student who has completed required TCLEOSE courses for Jail Guard or Texas Peace Officer may apply for an Academic Endorsement of Eligibility that is necessary to sit for the appropriate licensing examination. For purposes of endorsement, course completion is defined as follows:

1. A grade of "C" or better in each college course included in the endorsement.

2. A score of 80 or higher on the final exam of each college course included in the table below.

Jail Guard: 
CJCR 1300 Jail Guard                                                                                                            

Texas Peace Officer*: 
CJLE 2420 Texas Peace Officer Procedures
CJLE 2421 Texas Peace Officer Law
CJLE 2522 Texas Peace Officer Skills                    

* For Texas Peace Officer endorsement, a student may substitute a score of 80 or higher on a Texas Peace Officer mock licensure examination given by the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy.

To begin the application process, the student should contact a counselor or the Technical Education Director.

LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY
Uvalde Campus         

Purpose

The purpose of the Middle Rio Grande Regional Law Enforcement Academy's Basic Peace Officers certification course, a 600 clock hour course of study offered over a period of 15 weeks is to train prospective Law Enforcement officers in the Southwest Texas region.

The Academy also offers the County Corrections Officer Course, and many other in-service courses, intermediate and advanced, as well as those currently required by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) are also offered for those peace officers desirous of the training.

The selected courses are directed toward improving skills and enhancing the peace officers' level of proficiency. Students who successfully complete the Basic Peace Officer Program may receive appropriate college credit. Please refer to the Criminal Justice A.A.S. Program section for additional information.

Training points are awarded by TCLEOSE for certain courses for intermediate and advanced certification. Students will not be issued a peace officer's license until the age of 21 except as provided by TCLEOSE regulations.

Cost

Tuition for the Basic Peace Officer course is currently $1,935 for the individual attendees or $250 for those sponsored by a police agency in the area, as long as funding is available.

Admission Requirements - Basic Peace Officer program

To be admitted, a prospective student must:

1. be a citizen of the United States of America (born or naturalized).

2. meet one of the following minimum educational requirements:

3. be physically sound and free from any defect which may adversely affect the performance of duty appropriate to the type of license sought.

4. be finger printed and be subjected to a search of local, state, and national records and fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record.

5. not be on probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class C Misdemeanor.

6. not have been convicted of a Class A Misdemeanor offense within the last 12 months.

7. not have been convicted of a Class B Misdemeanor within the last six months.

8. not have been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated or Driving Under the Influence of Drugs within the last 24 months.

9. not have ever been convicted of a felony offense at any time.

10. be of good moral character.

11. not have been discharged from any military service because of:

12. must be fluent in reading and comprehension of the English language. This will be determined by the administration of the T.A.B.E. test prior to enrollment.  The student should  score 9th grade level or better.

13. must pre-register for the Basic Peace Officer course on or before the deadline (approximately one month) as set by the Academy.

14. must present a letter from a sponsoring agency in person to the Academy staff, stating name, date of birth, and social security number on or before the pre-registration deadline.

15. must have submitted an application at the time of the testing and interview.

16. must be willing to acknowledge and adhere to the Academy's Memorandum of Understanding, Rules and Regulations, and Rules of Conduct.

A student who has completed all coursework for the AAS Law Enforcement degree except for "Texas Peace Officer" courses (CJLE 2420 Texas Peace Officer Procedures, CJLE 2421 Texas Peace Officer Law, and CJLE 2522 Texas Peace Officer Skills) may apply to complete one or more of these courses by attending the Middle Rio Grande Law Enforcement Academy under special arrangement. To begin the application process, the student should contact a counselor or the Technical Education Director.

The Academy will not accept any medical records for waiver of any handicap, except those associated with injuries received while a student in the Academy. The physical education requirements of the Academy vary according to the age of the student. The break-point for the change is at age 34 or older.