NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Michigan State Police is looking for more officers, encouraging local departments to take part in the training to become state police troopers.
The Lateral Entry Recruit School for law enforcement is a condensed version when compared to the recruiting school and is split into 10-12 weeks and three phases. Phase One focuses on basic academy and physical training, phase two focuses more on decision-making and self-sufficiency and phase three aims more education towards building leadership and exposing to the officers what they might experience on a daily basis.
“Water safety, defensive tactics, physical training, dealing with de-escalation type scenarios,” commented Michigan State Trooper Aaron Griffin. Trooper Aaron Griffin is one of the latest graduates of the last lateral entry and commented that gaining public trust is one of the biggest factors of the job they train rigorously. He noted that without it, the job would not only become that much more difficult but dangerous as well.
“That is why our recruit school is so intense because we have to earn the public’s trust and the public has to trust that we’re going to do our job the right way every time,” continued Griffin. Lateral Entry Recruit School is for officers with two years or more experience, providing recruits with more fast-paced skill-building and decision-making while on the job.
“Any goal in life that you have should require sacrifice and work the options are endless within the Michigan State Police,” continued Griffin. Griffin continued by saying not only is physical training a main point of focus during the recruiting sessions, but so is their moral to serve and protect at all costs.
Click here, for more information on the MSP’s Lateral Entry Recruit School.
