The 24 recruits will complete a
22-week training academy that includes 14 weeks of basic police
training and eight weeks of more specialized conservation officer
training. Following graduation, the probationary conservation officers
will then complete 18 weeks of field training. During the first two
years after field training completion, the conservation officers will
complete four additional weeks of specialized training, including search
and rescue training and marine, waterfowl, snowmobile and trapping
enforcement training.
There are 22 men and two women
in Recruit School No. 7. Seven of the new recruits are military veterans
and three are previous law enforcement officers. Upon academy
graduation, the recruits will range in age from 21 to 45.
DNR conservation officers serve
a distinct role in Michigan's law enforcement community. They are
certified police officers with the authority to enforce all of
Michigan's criminal laws. As conservation officers, they also have
unique training in a wide variety of other areas related to the
protection of Michigan's citizens and natural resources.
Michigan currently has 213 conservation officers, which doesn’t account for upcoming attrition through retirements.
“Our goal is to establish and
maintain appropriate conservation officer coverage for every Michigan
county, and this recruit school furthers that goal,” said Gary Hagler,
chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “In addition to protecting
the state’s natural resources and assisting in rural and urban community
policing, conservation officers often serve as first responders.”
Conservation officers routinely conduct lifesaving operations such as ice rescue and search and rescue.
In 2015, conservation officers performed a number of livesaving operations, including a November rescue of a lost hunter in Mackinac County and a lost hunter and deer tracker in Gladwin County, an October rescue of a lost and injured Gladwin County woman, a September lifesaving operation during a Pentwater fire, an August apprehension of an escaped Iosco County prisoner, and a March ice rescue on the Detroit River, among many more.
First Lieutenant Steven Burton,
supervisor of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division employment and
training section, noted that the DNR is actively recruiting for future
recruit schools.
"Men and women interested in a
career as a conservation officer should start the process now by taking
the Michigan Civil Service exam and completing an online application for a future academy," Burton said.
Michigan conservation officers
are fully commissioned state peace officers who provide natural
resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect citizens by
providing general law enforcement duties and lifesaving operations in
the communities they serve. Learn more about Michigan conservation
officers at www.michigan.gov/conservationofficers.
