Nineteen Students Graduate From Hancock's CORE Custody Academy

The graduates will join the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office as custody deputies

Apr. 13, 2017 -- Nineteen recruits graduated from Allan Hancock College’s CORE Custody Academy on Thursday during a ceremony held at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex at the Lompoc Valley Center. All 19 members of Class #02 from the college’s CORE Custody Academy will serve as custody deputies for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. They will maintain custody and supervise the work and conduct of inmates within the Santa Barbara County jail system.

“What you see here today is what community college is all about. We are preparing outstanding men and women for public service careers like law enforcement, fire, nursing, and many more,” said Allan Hancock College Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “We are honored and grateful for the courage, dedication and commitment you are demonstrating as you enter the law enforcement profession.”

The graduates completed a comprehensive California Standards and Training for Corrections, which included 220 hours of instruction. The six-week academy is designed to prepare students mentally, morally, emotionally and physically to work as correctional officers. Some of the instruction included emergency planning in a custody facility, report writing, ethics, investigation procedures, contraband, arrest and control, physical fitness training, CPR/First Aid, and emergency vehicle operations.

“Allan Hancock College has a great state-of-the-art facility with top-notch instructors. I know all of us in this graduating class received the training and knowledge we need to succeed in our new careers,” said Brian Gudino, who received the class Valedictorian and Leadership awards.

The majority of the class was funded through the Northern Branch Jail Project and will be assigned to the new facility when it opens in spring 2019, according to Kelly Hoover, public information officer with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The graduates range in age from 22 to 57 years of age and entered the academy with a variety of backgrounds and life experience. During the ceremony, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown reminded graduates of the responsibility that comes with their chosen career.

“You will need healthy doses of self-discipline, compassion, patience, and courage in your new roles,” said Sheriff Brown. “You will need to remember and rely on your training and on your fellow custody deputies. Never forget that you have the opportunity to be an integral part of changing for-the-better, the thinking, attitude, behavior, and future of inmates who are committed to your care.”

The graduates include: Patricia Arjona, Paul Barragan, Carlos Best, Jennifer Brookshire, Gabriel Cisneros, Shaun Crouse, Brian Foster, Alfredo Gallardo, Matthew Galvan, Christina George, Gudino, Antonio Madrigal, Christian Martinez, Victor Nash, Mark Ramirez, Fabian Silva, Matthew Sua, David Villavicencio and Eric White. The class selected Best to receive the Most Inspirational Award.

Twenty-two students graduated from the college’s inaugural CORE Custody Academy class last September. Class #01 included 15 custody deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and seven correctional deputies from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

To learn more about the CORE Custody Academy or the law enforcement training program at Allan Hancock College, visit www.hancockcollege.edu/pstc[BROKEN LINK] or call 1-805-922-6966 ext. 3284.

The college’s Fire Training Academy will hold graduation Friday, May 19, while the Law Enforcement Training Academy will graduate Thursday, June 8. Both ceremonies will take place at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc.

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All 19 recruits in Allan Hancock College’s CORE Custody Academy will join the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office as custody deputies. Class #02 posed with Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown (front row, center) after the graduation ceremony.