North Brunswick Police Lt. Roger Reinson (r), with Cambodian police officer and roommate Thearath Chi, was one of 250 law enforcement officers selected worldwide to attend the 225th session of the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Va., this spring. Studied 10 weeks on
military base with officers from around the world
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK – Police Lt. Roger Reinson attended the 225th session of the FBI National Academy, becoming the third representative from North Brunswick to complete this prestigious leadership-training program.
Reinson trained from April 1 to June 9 at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., located about 35 miles outside of Washington, D.C.
“It is a great opportunity so I wanted to give it a shot, and it can be beneficial to both the department now and me later in my career,” he said.
Reinson was one of six officers from New Jersey and 250 men and women total from 27 countries around the world selected to complete the 17-credit program comprised of physical training and five academic courses from the University of Virginia.
He had previously applied to the academy but submitted an application again after speaking with a local FBI agent who was involved with the program.
His membership follows in the footsteps of former Deputy Chief Stanley Karbowski and former Capt. Jim Stanke. They all met the requirements of being a five-year, full-time member of a law enforcement agency, at least 25 years of age and in excellent physical condition, according to the FBI Web site.
“It was a constant learning of how other people are doing police work,” he said. “In the end you have the ability to contact other people across the country should the need come up.”
The daily schedule consisted of breakfast, two-hour classes, lunch, two more classes, dinner and then free time at night. Course topics included communication, management of subordinates, networking, statement analysis, management and organizational change and public speaking. Physical training was held at various times three or four times a week.
Guest speakers such as Michael Durant, who was involved in the operation the book and movie “Black Hawk Down” was based on, held seminars and field trips were scheduled to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Capitol building and various battlefields. However, the majority of time was spent studying for exams in the library or writing the necessary papers.
“This is your job for 10 weeks: to get up, get educated and get in shape,” he said. “No one can really explain it to you unless you experience it firsthand. What the academics are like, you have [physical training] every day, you go away and leave your family to fend for themselves; you don’t know until you get there.”
“For me the intensity was a lot for the academy. You had a lot of work to do, but I think academically I was prepared because I was in the academic mode because I was going for my master’s degree from Seton Hall,” he said of the two undergraduate and three graduate courses he enrolled in during training.
Besides the natural anxiety and anticipation associated with such a program, the 43-year-old former construction worker also had to get accustomed to living in a dormitory-style atmosphere. He shared a room with Thearath Chi, a major from the Cambodian Police Department.
“The foreign students tried to understand and better their comprehension of the English language,” Reinson said. “I gave Thearath a headset to listen to English. I read literature and made a copy of my voice so he could listen and read it back.”
Another obstacle was being 250 miles from his family for 10 weeks. Instead of partying in Washington, D.C., or relaxing on campus, Reinson drove four hours each way on the weekends to see his wife and two sons, sometimes leaving New Jersey at 3:30 a.m. to travel back to Virginia for class.
“Going away from your family for a long time is hard, especially going away from your kids,” he said.
However, he persisted through the training and finally attended graduation on June 9.
“It was a sense of accomplishment, a sense of relief,” he said. “People wanted to get home to their families, myself included. At that time you’re glad it’s over but down the road I realized it was great to be there. It was an honor being there with all of those people from around the country and around the world.”
As part of the requirements for the academy, Reinson must remain in law enforcement for three years after graduation. He originally joined the police force in 1990 and received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Caldwell College a few years ago and then completed his master’s degree in human resources from Seton Hall University while at the academy this spring.
Since returning to the NBPD he has relinquished his role as division commander of the Detective Bureau to Lt. Mike Misurell but has retained the responsibilities of administration, Homeland Security Counter Terrorism Task Force, Internal Affairs and Public Information Officer, along with undertaking various other special projects in the department.
“I think my communication skills have gotten better,” he said of the learning experience. “It was a breath of fresh air for my career. It took me away from [the department] and helped with my management and communication skills. I was away from the daily grind of North Brunswick and I have come back here feeling a lot better.”
Overall, he is relieved to be finished with the academy but realizes the impact the entire situation has had on his life.
“If you would have asked me [if I would do it all again] on the last day I would have said no. If you ask me that today, four or five weeks looking back, I would say yes, I would do it again.”
The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for international law enforcement leaders that serves to improve the administration of justice and raise law enforcement standards, knowledge and cooperation worldwide. Instituted in 1935, the academy was developed in response to a 1930 study by the Wickersham Commission that recommended the standardization and professional development of law enforcement departments across the United States through centralized training. The program currently offers four sessions each year to 150 countries worldwide in order to develop higher levels of competency, cooperation, and integrity across the law enforcement community, according to the Web site.
For more information about the academy, visit www.FBI.gov.