Oak Ridge Today

CPD Chief Scarbrough moving to UT’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Rick Scarbrough

Rick Scarbrough

Rick Scarbrough is leaving the Clinton Police Department after 16 years as chief. Scarbrough has accepted a position as executive director of the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center.

On Tuesday, the City of Clinton said it announced the departure with mixed emotions.

“When I say mixed emotions, I’m excited for the opportunity my friend has, but as city manager, I obviously hate to lose him as our police chief,” Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said in a press release.

Houck said he and Scarbrough have discussed the possibility the chief could be leaving, and they both think Assistant Chief Vaughn Becker is ready for the opportunity.

“We have had a succession plan in place for some time,” Houck said. Becker will become the interim Clinton police chief effective August 1. [Read more…]

ORPD to host Junior Police Academy this summer

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy students at the National Forensics Academy in 2012. (File photo/submitted)

 

The Oak Ridge Police Department will host the Junior Police Academy again this summer.

The Fifth Annual Junior Police Academy will be offered to 5th-12th grade students, including private school and home-schooled students. Students interested in learning more about the Oak Ridge Police Department and the criminal justice system are encouraged to apply. The academy is free to all eligible applicants.

The Junior Police Academy will be offered in three phases this year:

  • Phase I: Basic Law Enforcement Awareness—will be held June 20-24 and is for first-year cadets only.
  • Phase II: Intro to Forensic Investigations—will be held June 27-July 1 and is for second-year cadets only.
  • Phase III: Emergency Response and Readiness—will be held July 18-22 and is for third-year cadets only.

[Read more…]

Booms heard Wednesday were explosives training for officers at UT Arboretum

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The booms heard in Oak Ridge on Wednesday were from explosives training for law enforcement officers at the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue, an official said.

Twenty-nine officers from across the country are training in a 10-week National Forensics Academy course offered by the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center in Oak Ridge. That course includes crime scene investigation, and one aspect of that training involves investigating car bombs, suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, said Don Green, executive director of the Law Enforcement Innovation Center. On Wednesday, an explosives ordinance team from the Knoxville Police Department used explosives to show officers what they would have to go through at that type of scene.

The explosives training session was on Wednesday only. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Police Department Junior Police Academy registration opens

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Fourth Annual Junior Police Academy is being offered again by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

This year, the ORPD will offer one academy for the Junior Class, designed specifically for middle and high school students from June 22-26. Registration is also open to rising fifth-graders to middle school. The ORPD is also offering a Senior Class for former JPA graduates only. The Senior Class offers advanced training and activities. The Senior Class is scheduled from July 6-10.

JPA cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops, and much more, a press release said. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Oak Ridge Police Department, and they will be given a presentation by the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention, in reference to substance abuse through awareness, and education. [Read more…]

ORPD: Junior Police Academy applications now available

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Junior Police Academy Logo

The Third Annual Junior Police Academy is being offered again by the Oak Ridge Police Department.

This year, the ORPD will offer two separate academies. The Junior Class is designed specifically for middle school students, and it’s scheduled from July 14-18. All Oak Ridge middle school students and rising fifth graders may attend. The Senior Class is designed for high school students, and it’s scheduled from July 21-25. All Oak Ridge High School students and rising ninth graders may attend.

Cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops, and much more. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Oak Ridge Police Department, and they will be given a presentation by the Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention in reference to substance abuse through awareness, and education. [Read more…]

ORPD offers Junior Police Academy for students; register by July 5

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy

Oak Ridge Junior Police Academy students at the Law Enforcement Innovation Center in 2012. (Submitted photo)

The 2nd Annual Junior Police Academy will take place from Aug. 5-9. This is the last week before Oak Ridge Schools start the new school year.

Cadets will be given presentations by several Oak Ridge Police Department officers on topics that include K9 and SWAT operations, traffic stops and more. Cadets will also visit the prestigious Law Enforcement Innovation Center, Anderson County Detention Facility, and Anderson County Criminal Court, and they will be given a presentation by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office’s Aviation unit, who will fly in on a helicopter.

The academy meets from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Those who are eligible to attend are students entering high school this year or returning to high school, or those that graduated this May. Private school and home-schooled students are welcome as well. [Read more…]