A UNT Police captain recently had a rare opportunity to participate in an elite 11-week FBI training program that reinforced and expanded his community policing skills.

Capt. David Owen said the training he received at the FBI National Academy addressed many aspects of policing, from cyber crimes and social media to best practices from the 2015 report on 21st Century Policing.

“The program is academically rigorous,” said Owen, who earned five undergraduate and 12 graduate level credits. “I had to write papers as part of my coursework. We had tests that were graded. Everyone there was chosen because they are leaders in their departments so we each made of it what we wanted. We chose to put in our full effort and to push ourselves.”

The program was physically challenging, too, ending with a 6.1-mile course that included obstacles such as scaling walls and running through woods and rough terrain.

The FBI National Academy began offering this program for police officers in 1935. Owen was one of 221 who attended this year. It is both a professionally prestigious honor to be selected as well as an opportunity for UNT’s accredited police department.

“We are focused on professional development of our employees and the FBI National Academy is the pinnacle for law enforcement training,” said Chief Ed Reynolds. “This aligns with our community policing focus and will benefit our entire department with the skills that Capt. Owen brings back to share with our officers.”

Owen has worked for 10 years on the administrative side of department but on Jan. 8 he began a new position overseeing the police operations division, which includes the patrol officers. The focus of the academy – reducing crime while also reinforcing trust and collaboration with one’s community – is also the focus of the police operations division.

“I’m looking forward to this new opportunity and I’m glad I was able to participate in the academy leading up to this new job,” said Owen. “As a public safety leader, the FBI National Academy allowed me to dive deep into topics and it gave me some new tools and skills to further develop.”