Bergen Community College

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http://www.bergen.edu/pr/h_cop.jpg

19 Bergen Community College Criminal Justice Program students received “S – 1,” Special Law Enforcement Officer certificates from Hackensack Police Chief, Charles K. Zisa at a graduation ceremony held on December 5, 2005 at the Bergen County Police Academy. The students are members of the second graduating class of a new program called “H-COP,” a partnership between Bergen Community College and the Hackensack Police Department, which certifies them to be Special Law Enforcement Officers in the State of New Jersey.

The program is highly selective and candidates are rigorously screened before being accepted. They must undergo background checks, psychological testing, and interviews prior to being accepted and starting their 14-week training at the Bergen County Police Academy. The cost of the screening and training is covered by the Hackensack Police Department which spends approximately $2500 per student. In exchange for the training they receive, the graduates volunteer their services to the Hackensack Police Department for eight hours each month.

Once they complete the program and receive their S – 1 certificate, the graduates posses limited law enforcement powers and may go out on patrols with other Special Law Enforcement Officers or regular Police Officers, write tickets, direct traffic, and respond to calls, among other duties. They may be employed as Special Officers anywhere in the State and currently, several of the graduates are working at local Police Departments. H-COP is one of the offerings of the Criminal Justice Program which gives students the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom and to provide them with valuable real-life experience. “This is another step that the Criminal Justice Program has taken so that graduates can get a taste of police work” said Criminal Justice Program Professor Ralph Rojas, “it gives the students a chance to see if policing is the right career for them.”

The 2005 graduates are:

Nicola Attansio
David Affinito of West Milford
Christopher Brennan of Mahwah
Thomas Broskie of Westwood
Christen Calabro of Totowa
Adam Fingeroth of Fair Lawn
Iosef Florian of Teaneck
Michael Golden of Wycoff
James Han of Palisades Park
Laura Harvey of North Haledon
Todd Housell of Hackensack
James Malgieri, Jr. of Ringwood
Dane Marble of Hackensack
Jaclyn Marsh of Clifton
Carmelo Musarra of Fort Lee
Manan Naik of Fair Lawn
Catherine Rojo-Ortiz of Paterson
Joissy Vildoso of Hackensack
Nenad Vuckovic of Kinnelon

Bergen Community College is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling more than 14,000 students in Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degree programs, and certificate programs. More than 10,000 students are enrolled in non-credit, professional courses through the Division of Continuing Education, the Institute for Learning in Retirement, and the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center, located at 355 Main Street, Hackensack. Information about the College is available on this Web site or by phoning the Welcome Center at 201-447-7200.