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Borough police lieutenant now has an FBI education

By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
   Freshly back from his graduation from the FBI National Academy, Princeton Borough Police Lt. Nicholas Sutter has returned with more than just a diploma.  As part of the 1 percent of active law enforcement officials who get a chance to take part in the program, Lt. Sutter has brought back a wealth of newly acquired resources and contacts — many of which can be applied to policing right here in the borough, he said.
   Lt. Sutter graduated Dec. 14 after taking courses at the academy in Quantico, Va., since September.
   Simply put, “they offer the most comprehensive and elite training the world,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than what they offer there for the instruction and the curriculum.”
   While there, he was able to network with his fellow students and elite instructors.
   ”One of the biggest things that comes out of experience there is the contacts that I’ve made from around the world,” he said, citing a newly formed network of instructors as well as fellow students from 49 states and 24 nations.
   But Lt. Sutter didn’t forget about his own town upon arrival at the academy.
   ”I specifically picked courses that I thought would be beneficial to our community here — that I could put back into practice here,” he said.
   Among other things, Lt. Sutter received civil certifications from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for emergency management and used counter-terrorism classes to develop a “threat assessment” and a “target-hardening strategy” for the borough, which help to limit the potential vulnerability of such sites in the community.
   In addition, he completed legal and executive leadership classes, and “learned the latest and greatest techniques in forensics,” he said, noting that he was trained in the FBI’s cutting edge methods of DNA collection — “things that we don’t have the capabilities of doing in local law enforcement.”
   But now the borough will have access to the myriad skills Lt. Sutter acquired, as well as the help of those he formed relationships with while at the academy.
   Lt. Sutter also said he obtained an “extensive amount of training aids” that can be used to provide training for other borough officers.
   Furthermore, he is now a member of the National Academy Association, which offers periodic refresher courses and even more contacts and resources.
   ”That’s something that just keeps on giving,” he said. “Whatever type of challenge that we face — maybe we need assistance in something — it’s right there at our fingertips.”
   Fortunately, Lt. Sutter’s participation in the program was funded entirely by the federal government through the FBI, he said.
   Prior to his acceptance into the program, the selection process spanned nearly two years, he said.
   After being recommended by the borough police department, Lt. Sutter submitted an application and a resume and then underwent interviews, background investigations and even a medical examination before going through a series of approvals starting at the bureau’s local office in Newark and ultimately at the FBI headquarters in Virginia.
   Lt. Sutter said he was “extremely honored” to have been invited to join the elite group of law enforcement officials.
   ”It was like the pinnacle of my career at this point,” he said.
   Borough Police Chief Anthony Federico said Lt. Sutter should be proud to be among the elite group that completes the program.
   ”It’s quite an honor to go there and graduate,” he said.