IUPD Cadets prepare for summer academy

In January, the Indiana Daily Student interviewed IU Police Department cadets Brad Begeske and Amanda Stahl about their experiences in the cadet program and their career aspirations upon graduation from IU.

In four weeks, the two cadets and 35 others will enter the IU Police Academy, the only one of its kind in the country, and will become fully sworn officers, working part-time for IUPD in the fall.

“I think I still want to go federal one day,” Stahl said. “I see myself on the East Coast getting into the federal system.”

Begeske said he sees himself working in either local or federal law enforcement, but returning back home near Chicago.

Stahl and Begeske run sprints and participate in circuit training at 7 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays with IUPD Sgt. David Rhodes.

“I’ve been taking a workout class to prepare me,” Stahl said.

The academy begins May 10 and will last until Aug. 14.

Begeske’s and Stahl’s current duties as cadets include patrolling academic buildings and providing security for athletic events.

Their entrance into the academy is just weeks away and Begeske and Stahl have begun opportunity walk-alongs with part-time IUPD officers who patrol the residence halls.

“We give them the opportunity to shadow the officers the last eight weeks because that will be one of their primary functions next year — working at the residence halls,” IUPD Lt. Greg Butler said.

The cadets are asked to work 12 to 20 hours a week in three- to four-hour shifts. Begeske and Stahl both also take 17 credit hours.

“I’m still patrolling the business school Saturday night and on Friday I’m doing dispatch,” Begeske said. “We had to work the mini-marathon the other day.”

Starting May 10, their weekdays will begin at 6 a.m. with a physical fitness routine.
“We do something different every morning,” Butler said.

Three days a week, the cadets will start with exercises and follow up with a run of no less than two miles. Tuesday will include various aerobic exercises and Thursday, swimming will be their morning exercise regimen. 

The cadets are given a short break and classes begin at 8 a.m.

Their classes throughout the summer will include criminal law and specialty skills, including traffic law, hazardous materials and crash investigations. While at the academy, the cadets must demonstrate complete discipline.

“We treat them as adults,” Butler said. “If they walk in one minute late, that’s their first chance, if it happens again they are probably done.”

Provided they graduate from the academy in the fall, Begeske, Stahl and the other cadets will have full arrest authority. Although they are not guaranteed a permanent job at IUPD after graduation, they will have a leg up in the law enforcement hiring process.

“They normally will go to other departments and will get hired pretty quickly,” Butler said. “It saves them time and money if they have someone who is certified and they are coming out of here with a college degree.”