The Hermiston Police Department announced that Cpt. Scott Clark has graduated from the School of Police Staff and Command (SPSC) at Northwestern University.
Clark successfully completed the 22-week program which lasted from October 2018 through March 2019. This program, which was implemented by the Center for Public Safety in 1983, has graduated over 20,000 students both nationally and internationally.
Clark was a student in SPSC class #449 which had 25 total students.
Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said the School of Police Staff and Command provides upper-level college instruction in 27 core blocks of instruction including leadership, human resources, employee relations, organizational behavior, applied statistics, planning and policy development, budgeting and resource allocation. Each student was academically challenged through written examinations, projects, presentations, quizzes and a staff study paper. The Center for Public Safety was established at Northwestern University in 1936 with the specific goal of expanding university-based education and training for the law enforcement community.
“Having been through this training myself, I know how challenging it is just to keep up with all the coursework,” Edmiston said. “Cpt. Clark opted to take the course online which means he not only juggled the class itself, but his normal work duties around the department.
Edmiston said Clark’s graduation from SPSC is something of a feather in his proverbial cap.
“Whenever you see an announcement for a police chief position, you typically see a desire to have attended one of the ‘Big 3’ – either the FBI National Academy, Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, or the Southern Police Institute,” he said. “I believe my job is to ensure there are people who can fill voids when left. Knowing how dedicated Scott is to this profession and to the course he just completed, gives me a sense of ease as I am confident when my time is up, he and others will be there to continue serving the community we are blessed to call home.”
