This is great! I found this on An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog. The Maritime Law Enforcement Academy is now an accredited (nationally) law enforcement academy! What's that mean? Well not only can you get accredited credit for colleges, you an also use this course to suffice in another LE career later.

Direct Link: http://ucgblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/days-of-from-ring-are-long-gone.html

I think this would be better placed under Law Enforcement.

Just to clarify, MLEA's accreditation through FLETA has nothing to do with college credits. College credit via ACE has been awarded for BTM and BO school for a long time. In addition, I doubt seriously that an LE agency is going to give credit for or waive their own academy requirements for the 5-6 week (?) MLEA. As a threepeat FLETC basic course recidivist, I can tell you that no credit is given for prior attendance unless the previous course meets the specific requirements of the employing agency.

Regardless of accreditation, Coasties who have graduated MLEBOC/MLEA have always been able to answer yes to having attended an LE academy. My agency usually specifically asks if the candidate attended USCG or other maritime law enforcement training.

Accreditation through FLETA, like accreditation through CALEA for LE agencies, provides "best practices" that help to increase public confidence in an agency and to reduce liability exposure. This is a signicant accomplishment for MLEA as accreditation requires a lot of documentation. Visit FLETA for a better explanation of the benefits of accreditation.

It would only count as a LIMITED SPECIFIC Academy. It does NOT satisfy the requirements for appointment as a Peace Officer, since there is no education on criminal investigation, driving, traffic investigation, etc. Don't think that getting your BO qual means you're a cop. You're not.

Locally, for local LE, accreditation turns an officer's two-inch thick policy manual into three four-inch policy manuals. A policy for EVERYTHING!

OUCH!

quote:

Originally posted by JerryG:
A policy for EVERYTHING!

Working for a CALEA accredited agency, the policy is only half the battle, showing compliance with the policy is the real challenge.

Just a question. What about the people who went to the new MLEA before it was accredited? are they grandfathered in for the credits?

Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation is separate and unrelated to ACE recommendation for college credits. Therefore, there is no "grandfathering" for credits. See www.fleta.gov for more info on the benefits of FLETA accreditation.

Here's the info regarding the ACE recommendaton:

"The American Council on Education (ACE) reviews Boarding Officer Course.

Credit recommendation from ACE applies to graduates of the Boarding Officer Course retroactively to 01 November, 2004 as follows: in the lower-division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in defensive tactics, 3 in criminal investigations, 3 in criminal evidence and procedures, and 1 in instructor techniques."

Quick question:
Does this mean that CG Members can challange POST exams for a state and use the MLEA as an official LE training program?

Unfortunately, probably not. As BTDT stated, MLEA is too limited in scope and does not cover "traditional" police academy topics. You would have to check with POST in your state to determine applicability.

We sometimes have the same problem with FLETC training. Some states will accept criminal investigator (CITP) and uniformed police training (MBPTP/UPTP) for POST and others only the uniformed police training. Even with the training it is likely one would have to go through training for the "high liability" subjects.

I just spent 9 days at FLETC Charleston. Met the XO and OPS Officers for MLE School - happy to say I know LCDR Hammond (Ops) from my old Group San Francisco Days when he was XO CGC Long Island and I was Group SUPPO. Although I didn't get a chance to visit the school - I talked with a lot of students (shared the barracks and chow hall with them) and some instructors. From what I can see it is even more intense in scope then when I went to the PACAREA MLE School when it was in Modesto, CA prior to moving to Petaluma. The collection of landlocked boats and simulations they have for boardings including fishing boats, motor yachts, a go-fast I recognized that was either the same or very similar to one seized and brought into Key West back in the mid-90s should provide a very good collection of boarding scenerios.

On a side note - it looks like the Coast Guard is getting serious about physical conditioning - I don't recall seeing anyone there at the school who needed to have a weekly weigh-in!

I was invited to visit the school but my classroom schedule didn't allow it. Kudos to the school staff and students attending; very professional - including student demeanor outside of the workday...of course several ensigns needed some fatherly advice - but that never changes now does it?

All I know is you will get credit for police science, but you still need to go to another academy if looking for another job.