Give your team members the skills, confidence, and strategic mindset your agency needs and your constituents expect. Enroll them in The Sergeants' Academy and build future leaders.

This five‑session series equips frontline supervisors with the strategic, operational, and people‑centered leadership skills required in modern law enforcement. Participants learn how to think and plan like executives, lead teams with clarity and accountability, manage budgets with confidence, and strengthen both internal culture and community trust. Each session builds practical capability - strategic planning, leadership and management principles, budgeting, team development, and community/media relations—giving sergeants the tools to guide their agencies toward long‑term success.

Course Logistics & Participation Requirements

Registration: Select the number of attendees and complete payment by credit card—no PayPal account required. Your emailed receipt serves as your proof of registration.

Dates & Attendance: April 20 - 24, 2026. Please add them to your calendar and plan to join each online session at least five minutes early. You will receive a Zoom invitation a few days before the first day of this academy. 

Daily Schedule: Each session begins promptly at 08:00 MST. Participants may take personal breaks as needed, and a group break of up to 30 minutes may be scheduled each day.

Technology & Participation: Each student must use a computer or laptop with both a camera and a microphone. A roster is maintained for POST compliance. To earn the full 40‑hour Certificate of Completion, students must pay tuition and attend all five workshops. If an unavoidable conflict arises, contact the instructor directly to discuss options.

Homework: None.

Who Should Attend: Open to commissioned and non‑commissioned personnel preparing for promotion, as well as current Sergeants, Supervisors, Managers, and Directors. Agencies may also enroll high‑potential employees from any division—Patrol, Corrections/Jail, Records, Dispatch/911, or other units. Civilian personnel are welcome.

COURSE OUTLINE: The Sergeants’ Academy Course Online & LIVE

Session 1 –  The Sergeant's Role As Visionary & Strategic Planner Among The Topics To Be Covered: Strategic issues facing law enforcement over the next 10 years and how to plan and manage around them; executive-level techniques for strategic and tactical planning; improving productivity and quality; creating a learning organization versus a trained organization; developing an effective Mission and Vision; principles of effective Strategic Planning; Developing an effective Planning Cycle Calendar tied to your agency’s budget.

Session 2 – The Sergeant's Role In Implementing Effective Leadership & Management Principles Among The Topics To Be Covered: How to create an environment that fosters effective decision making and acceptance of accountability at all echelons; implementing an effective job performance review system; how to improve communication among and between the rank structure, shifts, and sections.

Session 3 – The Sergeant's Role In Finance & Budgeting Among The Topics To Be Covered: How to always be prepared for budget presentations; integrating the department’s goals with the budget process; how to sell your budget to other policy makers, budget committees, and the taxpayers; how and why to involve decision makers throughout your agency in finance and budgeting. (This is not an accounting or bookkeeping class!)

Session 4 – The Sergeant's Role In People Management Among The Topics To Be Covered: Who is the “team” for this agency? What does it take to create and maintain an effective team, focused on the agency's mission and objectives? What factors become obstacles to effective teams? What is senior leadership’s role in leading by example and expecting others to follow accordingly?

Session 5 – The Sergeant's Role In Community and Media Relations Among The Topics To Be Covered: Why every law enforcement agency needs an effective marketing program; fundamentals of marketing, community relations, publicity and media relations; structuring the role of an effective Public Information Officer; how to deal with negative press; how and when to conduct a press conference; how to get the word out about your agency without relying solely on local media; critical elements in developing an effective marketing program.

Check out Steve's book by clicking the cover photo here: