By Brian Trompeter
The Vienna Police Department’s newest officer, Jedidiah Temple, officially completed his training at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy on Oct. 19.
This achievement marked the conclusion of an intensive six-month program designed to equip newly recruited police officers with a comprehensive understanding of law-enforcement practices.
The non-residential training program encompassed an extensive 920-plus hours of instruction, covering a diverse curriculum that included 320 hours of academic studies, 94 hours of firearms training, 84 hours of emergency-vehicle operation, 110 hours of physical training and 130 hours of defensive-tactics instruction.
In addition to new recruits, the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy serves as a training ground for both novice and experienced officers hailing from various law-enforcement agencies, such as the Vienna, Herndon and Fairfax County police departments, Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and the Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Officer Temple next will be mentored by a field-training instructor over a 12-week period, during which the instructor closely will observe and guide Temple’s performance in various areas such as officer safety, traffic enforcement, interactions with the community, report writing, criminal investigations, handling vehicular accidents and numerous other aspects integral to the responsibilities of a law-enforcement officer.
