NEWTON COUNTY, Ga — A Georgia program that trains future police officers received a big honor Tuesday.
The academy at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, in Newton County, held a ceremony marking its national accreditation -- becoming the first nationally accredited law enforcement academy in Georgia.
The first class graduated in 2009 and in the last five years the academy sent 150 cadets to law enforcement agencies all over the state. The academy now has a new class of cadets who will spend 17 weeks and more than 700 hours training at the academy.
"I feel like it's kind of setting the tone for training in the state. I want to raise the standard for training law enforcement officers," said the academy's Director Maj. Harry McCann