ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Cadet Program The local police recruit training facility, Indian River Academy, developed a program called the Academy Track Program to provide better candidates for employment for criminal justice agencies.  The regimented program allows students seeking a career in the criminal justice field to enter a comprehensive two year program to allow them to obtain both a Certificate of Completion from Indian River Academy and an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Indian River Community College upon completion of the program. Sheriff Mascara felt that this was a resourceful program and created the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Program to further enhance the student’s exposure to the criminal justice profession.  The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Program hires a few of the students who are enrolled in the Indian River Academy Track Program as part-time employees. The students work between 20 and 30 hours a week and must remain in the Academy Track Program as a successful student while employed by the Sheriff’s Office. A Sheriff’s Office cadet receives exposure and training within all facets of the agency.  They are assigned to work in the various components of the agency to include the Administration, Criminal Investigation, Detention, and Road Patrol divisions. Each cadet is assigned to a division on a semester basis.  At the end of the semester (approximately four months) they rotate positions in the agency to allow all of the cadets exposure to as much of the agency as possible. Participating in both the Academy Track Program and being employed as a cadet with the Sheriff’s Office does not guarantee a full-time position with the agency upon completion of the program.  Cadet applicants are still required to compete with other potential candidates for a position as a deputy sheriff.  However, it is certain that with the extra knowledge obtained in the cadet program, a cadet who applies for a full-time position with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office or any other law enforcement agency will have a better understanding of how a law enforcement agency works and will make them better qualified to receive an appointment as a law enforcement officer.

For more information please contact Linda Thiery at thieryl@stluciesheriff.com.