LPD Lieutenant Graduates From FBI Natl. Academy

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft (FBI NA Session 177) reports that Lieutenant Dwayne Prejean has joined the ranks of an elite group of law enforcement officers after graduating from the prestigious Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy.  Lieutenant Prejean attended the 243rd session of the FBI National Academy in a class that included two hundred sixty-five law enforcement officials from twenty-two international countries, all fifty states, the District of Columbia, four military service branches and seven federal civilian organizations.  FBI Director, Robert S. Mueller, III, presented diplomas to the graduates in a ceremony held on December 10, 2010 at the Academy facilities in Quantico, Virginia.

Internationally renowned for its academic excellence, the National Academy is an eleven week program of instruction  in a broad spectrum of law enforcement disciplines, including  law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism/terrorist mindsets, leadership development, communication, and health/fitness.  Officers also participate in a wide range of leadership and specialized training, and they share ideas, techniques, and experiences with each other, creating lifelong partnerships that span state and national lines.  The National Academy instructional staff is comprised of veteran FBI special agents and other instructors holding advanced academic degrees, many of whom are recognized as experts in their fields.  The program is academically accredited through its affiliation with the University of Virginia.

Appointment of candidates to the National Academy is highly selective and many law enforcement professionals consider the experience to be a high point, or even the crowning achievement, of a successful law enforcement career.  Less than one percent of the nation’s law enforcement officials and even a smaller percentage of eligible candidates from other countries are selected to attend the program, for which there is currently a waiting list.  Lieutenant Prejean is one of 44,280 graduates from the National Academy since its inception in July 1935. Of the total number of graduates, approximately 26,768 alumni are still active in law enforcement.

In addition to a rigorous academic component, the National Academy includes intense physical fitness training.  Lieutenant Prejean completed the “Fitness Challenge” which commenced during week one with a timed 1.8-mile run.  Each week thereafter the distance was increased culminating with the famous “Yellow Brick Road,”  a 6.1-mile grueling run through a hilly, wooded trail built by the Marines.  Along the way, participants climb over walls, run through creeks, jump through simulated windows, scale rock faces with ropes, crawl under barbed wire in muddy water, maneuver across a cargo net, and more.  Lieutenant Prejean completed the course in one hour and twenty nine minutes (1:29) and to memorialize his achievement, he received an actual yellow brick.  The course came to be known as the “Yellow Brick Road” years ago, after the Marines placed yellow bricks at various spots to show runners the way through the wooded trail.

Lieutenant Prejean is a 23 year veteran of the Lafayette Police Department.  Upon his graduation, Lieutenant Prejean joined the FBI National Academy Associates, a dynamic organization of more than 15,000 law enforcement professionals who actively work to continue developing higher levels of competency, cooperation, and integrity across the law enforcement community.