Police Chiefs, left to right, Paul Gallagher, North Andover; James Fitzpatrick, Lawrence; Joseph Solomon, Methuen; Alan R. DeNaro, Haverhill; Kevin Ouellet, Amesbury; and George Moriarty, NECC executive director of workforce development and corporate relations.
The first class of police recruits will graduate from Northern Essex Community College’s Police Academy Friday.
After six months of intensive training, the 45 recruits will be joining one of 16 local police departments.
“Local police chiefs were experiencing enrollment backlogs at the existing academies,” said George Moriarty, NECC’s director of workforce development and corporate education, when the academy opened in January. “And they approached the college about starting an academy in Haverhill.”
While it’s common for community colleges in other parts of the state to run police academies, it is not typical in New England, according to NECC Director of Public Relations Ernie Greenslade.
Middlesex Community College provides space for one of the state’s police academies on its campus but it does not run the academy. Northern Essex is the only community college in Massachusetts running an academy, Greenslade said.
In the fall, the academy will welcome a new class of 50 police recruits. Also in the fall, the academy will welcome its first class of Essex County corrections officers.
Graduation takes place Friday, June 26, 10 a.m. ,in the Sport and Fitness Center at the college’s Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St.