Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr is pleased to announce the recent graduation of Lieutenant Gale Voyles, Sergeant Rick McNair, Sergeant Phillip Waken and Court Services Supervisor Susan Argo from the “School of Police Staff and Command” of the Center for Public Safety, Northwestern University.

All four, three of which are veteran peace officers and one commissioned non-certified supervisor, have successfully completed this prestigious ten-week police management program, which was hosted at the Adams County Sheriff's Office from Sept. 12 to Jan. 20. This program, developed by the Center for Public Safety in 1983, has graduated over 7,000 students both nationally and internationally. They were four of 39 students in a class of students all from the greater Denver area.

The School of Police Staff and Command provides upper-level college instruction in a total of twenty-two core areas of instruction. Major topics include: Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Human Resources for Law Enforcement, Budgeting, Planning and Policy Development, Standards of Professionalism, Personnel Allocation and Deployment, and a core of legal subjects.

Each student is academically challenged through required examinations, projects and oral reports, in addition to writing of two staff study papers. Upon successful completion, students are awarded a total of 21 credit hours from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

The Center for Public Safety was established in 1936 at Northwestern University as the Traffic Institute, with the mission of expanding university-based education and training for the law enforcement community. Since its inception, the Center has broadened its original objectives and now provides a variety of course programs of Police Specialized Training, Law Enforcement Management, Traffic Engineering and Executive Development.

Darr said, “I am extremely pleased with the four who completed this demanding and challenging program. I am also proud of those who helped facilitate and coordinate this program, which was held at the Adams County Sheriff's Office. I want to recognize Court Services Manager Susan Argo, who was awarded the Franklin M. Kreml Leadership Award.”

This award was established in perpetuity by the Institute’s Founder. Its purpose is to recognize and thus encourage the high ethical and professional values and dedication to public service upon which the Traffic Institute was founded.

“This is an exciting time for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. To have one of our own recognized with such a prestigious award is a great honor. We are extremely proud of all of their individual and collective accomplishments,” Darr said.