Local Officer Completes Leadership Course

Sergeant Joe Rios, a resident of Newtown and a member of the Newtown Police Department, was among 37 law enforcement officials to complete a three-week Command Training Program on February 11. The program was held at the New England Institute of Law Enforcement Management at Babson College and sponsored by the New England Association of Chiefs of Police.

The training program provides command officers with the skills needed to exercise effective management practices. Command training concentrates on the operational aspects of the command officer’s responsibilities including problem solving, community policing and leadership. “The various programs deal with serving the leaders of today while preparing the leaders of tomorrow,” said Gerald F. Burke, director of the New England Institute. The New England Institute’s faculty is drawn from colleges and universities including Babson, Bentley and Brandeis, as well as the business and law enforcement professions.

The program offers courses in community relations, decision-making, planning, staffing and other management and human relations subjects. More than 8,000 law enforcement officers from all the New England States, as well as from other areas in the United States, have completed courses at Babson since the program began in 1967. Gerald F. Burke, retired Major of the Massachusetts State Police, is director of the New England Institute.