Peabody Police Capt. Scott Richards recalls applying for the FBI National Academy in 2015. Now, after a long wait due to a large number of applications and just a few available seats, he is one of 197 graduates in the 289th session of the academy. 

“I’ve wanted to go to the program for a long time,” Richards said of the 10-week program that holds classes in communication, leadership, and physical-fitness training. “It’s a very sought-after program, and it’s a very prestigious program in the law enforcement field.”

Richards said that professionally, he completed the program because having the academy in his resume would be “a plus” in his aspirations to become a police chief, and because it is “one of the premier, executive-level or chief-level types of training programs out there.”

“Anybody that wants to advance their career, and eventually potentially become a chief, thinks about taking this program,” Richards said. “And that’s what led me to apply for the program. When I applied, I had just become a captain in the Police Department and certainly my aspirations were to become a captain, but then potentially take that next step to chief.”

Personally, Richards said that the academy is a great way to meet people from all over the world, as the academy includes members of law-enforcement agencies from 23 countries.

“My roommate was actually a colonel in the National Police Department in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa,” Richards said. “It broadens your horizons, not just professionally, but also culturally and personally.”

Richards said that he was able to take a wide range of academic and physical-training courses at the academy.

“The classes range from, like, I took a ‘Building Bridges in the Community’ class, I had a ‘Legal Issues and Law Enforcement’ class, I had a ‘How to Deal with the Media’ class and how to do press, press releases, and news conferences,” Richards said. “You also have your physical-training class, which is a mandatory class for all students. During the course of the program, each week you have to participate in what they call a ‘weekly fit challenge.’”

Other physical-training programs that Richards did for the academy included a 5K run and a 6.1-mile obstacle course at the Quantico Marine Base. The class also took trips to New York City and Philadelphia, which were respectively sponsored by the New York and Philadelphia police departments. 

“It was a very gratifying and enriching and rewarding experience,” Richards said. “I’m glad I did it.”