NECC Police Recruit Graduation on the Haverhill campus.

Northern Essex Community College faculty, staff, and students are invited to meet administrators and students from the NECC Methuen Police Academy and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department Academy at an “Academy Meet and Greet” on Wed, Dec. 2 in the Hartleb Technology Center on the Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St.

The meet and greet will start at 11:30 a.m. with pizza and an informal opportunity to chat with academy administrators and students. The program will begin at noon and run until 1 p.m.

NECC President Lane Glenn will give a welcome at noon and then an administrator from each of the academies will share an overview of their academy including how their recruits are selected, what the training entails, and the jobs recruits will be filling after graduation. A student from one of the academies will also be invited to speak and share experiences from the student perspective. Questions and answers will follow the speaking program.

The college decided to host an “Academy Meet and Greet” so that the college community could learn about the academies, which are located on the college’s Haverhill Campus.

“The recruits are very visible on campus and we thought it would be helpful to give faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to get to know them,” said George Moriarty, NECC’s executive director of workforce development, who is responsible for overseeing the academies on campus.

The NECC Methuen Police Academy welcomed its first group of recruits last February and a second academy started this fall.  The academy is an intensive 25-week program that covers constitutional law, prevention and intervention, community policing, domestic violence, elder abuse, victims’ rights, and other topics. All training takes place on the Haverhill Campus except for fire arms training and emergency driving techniques which are held at off-campus locations. Most recruits are sponsored by local police departments so work in the area after graduation.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office began renting space from the college for its academy in September of this year.  The 12-week academy covers topics including first responder medical training, defensive tactics, ethics and professionalism, substance abuse, cultural diversity, and more.  Graduates are prepared for careers as corrections officers in the Essex County Sheriff Department.

For more information about the forum or the academies that are located on NECC’s Haverhill Campus, please contact George Moriarty at 978 659-1224 or gmoriarty@necc.mass.edu.