Municipal Police Academy cadets finish their last run at the Marple Campus as College staff cheer and celebrate their accomplishment.
Staff at Delaware County Community College enthusiastically cheered on soon-to-be graduates of the College’s Municipal Police Academy (MPA) yesterday as the cadets ran the last part of their training at the College’s Marple Campus. The cadets will graduate at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 16 at Ridley High School, 901 Morton Ave, Folsom, PA 19033. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer will be the guest speaker.
Running is a key part of the cadets’ training. They are required to complete a rigorous, 920-hour curriculum that includes extensive instruction in firearms, physical fitness, self-defense, Homeland Security, scenario training and practical exercises.
This first MPA class to graduate this year includes 28 cadets, including six female cadets. Last year, two women graduated. By comparison, in June 2018, the MPA broke a College record when it graduated 12 female cadets in a class of 48 students, the most female students to have ever graduated at one time. The previous year, 10 women graduated, which at that time broke a record, marking the most female cadets to have graduated the MPA at one time.
Delaware County Community College’s MPA conducts training for the Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission program in accordance with Pennsylvania Legislative Act 120. The MPA has been serving the community since 1977, and also conducts mandatory Act 180 in-service training for current municipal police officers. More than 95 percent of the municipal police officers in Delaware County and more than 75 percent of the police officers in Chester County are Delaware County Community College MPA graduates.
