ATLANTA - Ten new state parole officers will graduate the basic training course on Friday, April 10, 2015. The graduation ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) in Forsyth.

The new officers will be working in the following locations: Dalton, DeKalb, Douglasville, Gainesville, Griffin, LaFayette, Macon and Savannah.

The Basic Probation/Parole Officer Training Course (BPPOTC) is an eight week training course resulting in all new officers being certified as Probation/Parole Officers by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.).

Parole Board Chairman Terry Barnard will deliver keynote remarks to the graduating class.

“This is an exciting time for these new officers as they start their careers in community supervision,” stated Barnard.

The BPPOTC includes supervision techniques, investigation procedures, intervention strategies, Georgia law, policy and procedure, interview skills, physical fitness, arrest procedures, defensive tactics, computer interaction and firearms qualification.

The Parole Board employs approximately 335 officers, including chief parole officers and assistant chief parole officers. The average parole caseload of offenders is 88.

The graduation ceremony will be held in the GPSTC auditorium.

For more information please contact Steve Hayes, Chief Public Information Officer, Office of Communications, at 404-657-9450 or [email protected] or visit our website at www.pap.georgia.gov.

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