SD Board of Ed Approves Law Enforcement Program at LATI

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Education, meeting today, approved the addition of a Law Enforcement program at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown.

The program will begin in the fall of 2014 and take students 18 months to complete. Graduates will be trained in legal, technical, and practical aspects of law enforcement, and completion will result in an AAS degree.

According to LATI President Deb Shephard, a Law Enforcement program will complement the school’s already strong Medical/Fire Rescue program. The new program joins two existing Law Enforcement programs at South Dakota’s other technical Colleges – Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls and Western Dakota Tech in Rapid City.

However, a projected shortage of law enforcement officers in South Dakota justifies the need for an additional program, and because the technical Colleges are so spread out, Shephard doesn’t foresee any competition for students among Law Enforcement programs at the other technical Colleges.

“Southeast has indicated they don’t get many law enforcement students from our region,” Shephard said. “This program would fill a void in northeast South Dakota, and prevent South Dakotans from traveling to another state for the same education.