Chief Shane Fulmer of the Jemison Police Department completed the Certified Law Enforcement Executive Program in June.

Fulmer finished 240 hours of training and received his Certification in Law Enforcement at the Chiefs’ Conference in Gulf Shores on July 30.

In his 17 years in law enforcement, Fulmer said the program surpassed any of his previous training.

“It’s priceless the amount of training I was able to receive through this program (and) that I was able to bring back to the Jemison Police Department, the city of Jemison and the citizens of our town,” Fulmer said. “It prepares you in a lot of different areas.”

The University Partnership for Alabama Continuing Education (UPACE) and the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police (AACoP) hold the program, through which fewer than 100 police chiefs have earned certification since 2000.

To earn advanced certification, Fulmer and other program participants had to complete professional training at the executive level and pass examinations at the end of each segment.

Program segments included Understanding and Developing Your Leadership Style; Police Leadership: Managing for the Future; Ethics and Integrity; Police Organizational Structure: Managing for Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; and Personnel Management.

“I aggressively sought this certification,” Fulmer said. “I wanted it as quick as I could get it. There was never a dull moment.”

Fulmer received congratulatory letters from UPACE, AACoP and the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission on his training.

Earlier this year, the Jemison Police Department marked another milestone when three reserve police officers graduated from the Police Academy and became certified police officers.

Officers Steven Blalock, Keith Avery and Matthew Foshee completed 480 hours of training in one year, as well as an 84-hour Field Training Officer (FTO) program.