10-Week Law Enforcement Officer Pre-Academy Created in South Carolina

“Horry County Police Department is excited to see the continued growth of the HGTC criminal justice program, and its efforts to establish a regional criminal justice academy,” said Horry County Police Chief Joseph Hill. “Our department, as well as many others in the state, are in great need of a more readily available training option for our recruits. With gratitude, we would like to acknowledge the efforts HGTC has already made alongside HCPD, and other regional law enforcement agencies, to put a pre-academy training program in place on its campus.

Establishing a full-fledged regional training facility in Horry County would further ensure that our community has the officers it needs to continue to safely and securely grow into the future.”

HGTC dean Dr. Wysong agrees.

 “HGTC is prepared and able to support statewide law enforcement training, and our goal is to expand this program to do just that,” Wysong said. “We are dedicated to providing our region with the highly-trained law enforcement officers our area desperately needs.”

Through the pre-academy, candidates receive training that meets and, in some cases, even exceeds the basic law enforcement training they would receive at SCCJA in Columbia.

HGTC criminal justice professors and certified trained instructors from the Horry County Police Department lead the training and cover topics including use of force training, physical fitness/agilities, crisis intervention, the judicial process, criminal law, vehicle operations and traffic stops, and patrol operations. Students also spend one day per week in field training observation with their sponsoring agency, which is a unique feature of the program. It provides candidates exposure and training to their future employer before even entering the academy. Horry County Police Department, the City of Loris Police Department, and the City of Conway Police department all have candidates enrolled in this program.

About  Horry-Georgetown Technical College

HGTC offers college transfer and skilled associate degree programs in more than 65 fields of study, and many with online class options. Nearly all programs feature internships that lead to jobs. Ninety-five percent of students either transfer to earn advanced degrees or start careers in their respective fields of study. Horry-Georgetown Technical College prohibits discrimination against students and employees. Please direct discrimination and accessibility issues to the Office of Student Affairs at (843) 349-5228 or Building 1100C, 2050 Highway 501 E., Conway, SC.