On May 31, 2017, 37 officers from 16 state and local law enforcement agencies, including seven employees of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of State Parks, graduated from the 68th entry level law enforcement class at Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy. The graduation ceremony was held at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA.

Pictured from left to right are: State Parks Director Craig Seaver, Douthat Park
Ranger Aaron Ford; Pocahontas Chief Ranger Kevin Faubion,
First Landing Park Ranger Austin Olive; Occoneechee
Chief Ranger Asa Walvoort; First Landing Chief Ranger
Daniel Bostedt; James River Chief Ranger Nicholas Baldwin;
and Staunton River Chief Ranger Benjamin Isaacs.

Members of the 68th entry level law enforcement class went through an intensive 22 week program that began on January 3. The entry level school provides a recruit officer the basic law enforcement knowledge, skills and abilities that a police officer must master to be certified as a law enforcement officer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The training is both physically demanding and mentally challenging.

Recruit officers participate in daily physical training and must successfully complete blocks of instruction including: constitutional law, code of Virginia, criminal investigations, report writing and use of force. Recruit officers must also demonstrate proficiency in various physical skills such as: defensive tactics, firearms, intermediate weapons, vehicle operation and officer survival.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of State Parks conservation officers excelled throughout the 22 weeks of training. Kevin Faubion graduated Top of the Class and Benjamin Isaacs graduated Top Gun and was also Class Chaplain. The new officers will now begin an 8 week field training program that will pair them with veteran officers who will guide and mentor them as they apply the lessons learned in training to policing in our state parks.

Virginia State Parks is proud of all of its law enforcement officers who maintain the same level of training as other police officers in addition to the many other duties they perform. The Division of State Parks is an accredited agency under the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission.