Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Launching New Training Academy with State Approval.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

For decades the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has relied on outside institutions to provide basic Law Enforcement training for its Sheriff’s Deputies.

Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office won the State’s approval to operate its own Training Academy, which will allow VCSO to recruit, hire, and train its deputies at the highest level while paying Salary plus benefits.

According to a release, Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission approved a proposal put out by the Sheriff’s Office and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood as part of a strategy to increase the level of training, streamline the hiring process and allow recruits to launch their law enforcement careers without having to pay for basic classes out of their own pockets.

“From the day you're selected for hire, we'll pay you, train you and prepare you for a successful, rewarding career in modern law enforcement,” Sheriff Chitwood said Thursday morning after the program was approved. “We're investing in you from the beginning, so you don’t pay to go to school – we pay you.”

Previously, recruits for hire first had to complete the initial, FDLE-Certified Basic Law Enforcement Academy at Daytona State College. A 770-hour training program that used several Sheriff’s Office facilities and even some deputies as instructors. 

After graduation, and the recruits got hired by the Sheriff’s Office, they started 240 hours of the agency’s own New Deputy Training program, followed by 560 hours of field training on the road.

With the new model, recruits will be hired, paid, and trained as Sheriff’s Office employees. 

Under Sheriff Chitwood’s plan, the training will build on the existing curriculum with even more emphasis on community policing, on body cameras, on cultural diversity and implicit bias, and de-escalation tactics.

Candidates interested in a career as a deputy should visit BecomeADeputy.com for more information and a link to apply online.