Homeland security help

Michigan's own homeland security forces have recently received a boost with the establishment of the Grand Valley Criminal Justice Education Center -- a new resource offering ongoing leadership and skill-enhancement resources designed specifically for law enforcement personnel.

The new center was established in June 2001 under the auspices of the Grand Valley State University School of Criminal Justice. In January it was awarded a $52,500 grant from the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. The grant was presented to center Director James Bolger at a workshop on January 30 in Mt. Pleasant.

Bolger, who retired from the Michigan State Police after serving 27 years in law enforcement, said the Criminal Justice Education Center is designed to bring together local criminal justice people from law enforcement, 911 centers, courts, and corrections -- a total community -- and give them an opportunity for career development and education in the form of supervisory and leadership courses, and in special topic areas.

A special topic area addressed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks was a one-day seminar on Pre-Incident Response Preparation on Domestic Terrorism, held in late November and attended by more than 100 command-level officers, including sheriffs, chiefs, and captains, from throughout the state. The seminar, given by international terrorism expert Jonathan White and retired FBI terrorism task force agent William Dyson, Jr., covered the different manifestations of terrorism, how to identify potential threats, and critical responses once a threat is recognized, said Bolger.

Seminars planned through 2002 include First Line Supervisor and Leadership in a Command Position seminars. The leadership course consists of a series of one-day seminars that build on each other, but are spaced weeks apart to give participants time to absorb what they learn and apply it to their jobs. Topics include risk-taking, decision-making, communication skills, team motivation, and negotiation, among others.

This training for command-level officers -- those who make decisions and lead teams of officers -- is critical for establishing a strong homeland security force, said Bolger.

We're giving our criminal justice professionals a great deal of responsibility in dealing with homeland security, Bolger said. With that comes our responsibility as a university to assure those leadership results -- and that's what we're doing.

Instructors for the seminars are current and retired law enforcement executives. Sessions begin in late February. The grant also provides for three one-day seminars addressing diversity issues within criminal justice agencies.

The seminars are presented in partnership with the West Michigan Criminal Justice Training Consortium, a consortium of 35 local law-enforcement agencies.

Bolger, an alumnus of GVSU and Western Michigan University, began his law enforcement career in 1971 with the Kent County Sheriff's Department. He joined the Michigan State Police in 1973, and within that agency eventually served as deputy director (lieutenant colonel) of the Uniform Services Bureau, which oversees the agency's 2,300 field officers and the State of Michigan's $187 million public safety telecommunications system.