Page Police lieutenant Larry Jones recently completed the school of police staffing and command from Northwestern University. The training prepares police officers for command level positions such as chief of police or other leadership roles.
Lt. Jones was able to take the course online.
“It was really my only option,” he said. “We’re a small police force and every officer is needed. It wouldn’t have worked for me to leave Page. As it was, it worked well for us.”
The course required 20 to 30 hours of Jones’ time each week. The course lasted for 22 weeks.

“It was a very intensive 20 to 30 hours, but it was flexible,” said Jones.  “I could complete the week’s work on my schedule.”
The course teaches officers leadership, human resource management, employee relations management, budgeting, grants, media relations, contemporary policing, statistics, resource allocation, project management, policy and planning, organizational behavior and traffic management.
“Most of what I learned was stuff we’re already doing here, but it gave me another level of knowledge and tools,” said Jones. “I feel like a gained a lot from it.”
Lt. Jones said the course came with a second, unexpected advantage.
“It was a great networking tool,” he said. “I built some great contacts with other officers I was taking the classes with. They’re experienced officers from all parts of the country. A lot are specialists in a particular area, or have already started a program we may be interested in starting here.
For instance, if we want to start a bike program in Page I can contact one of these officers who has experience with a bike program.”
Page Police Chief Frank Balkcom said the additional knowledge and skills Lt. Jones learned from the course will be a great asset to the Page Police force.
 “The Northwestern Center for Public Safety program is an extensive and comprehensive leadership course that has allowed Lt. Jones to communicate and learn with various other regional law enforcement agencies,” said Chief Balkcom. “With thousands of former students engaged in law enforcement and traffic safety professions around the globe, NUCPS has earned the reputation as the worldwide leader in law enforcement professional development and education and most importantly will allow Lt. Jones to reach out to other classmates and reference ongoing criminal/law enforcement issues.”