Hillsdale College Hosts Law Enforcement Outreach Conference
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College hosted a Law Enforcement Outreach Conference on Jan. 27 at the college’s Dow Hotel and Conference Center. Law enforcement officers from across the country received training to become certified in teaching the Hillsdale College Law Enforcement Constitution Course. The course, launched in June 2022, provides law enforcement officers with deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution. Developed by Hillsdale College faculty and staff, it includes a four-hour block of instruction that can be included in police academy training schedules and in-service training days.
“Hillsdale College has a reputation for service and patriotism, as well as rigorous constitutional scholarship,” said Patrick Whalen, assistant to the president of Hillsdale College. “As a result, we had various law enforcement agencies asking for help instructing officers and deputies about the Constitution they take an oath to support and defend. This course is an outreach to those on the front lines of protecting our constitutionally guaranteed rights.”
This month’s conference certified law enforcement officers and trainers from nine different states to teach the course. Hillsdale College Ph.D. candidate Jeremiah Regan taught participants the full Law Enforcement Constitution Course before leading a workshop on how to teach it. “In the coming months, the instructors we certified during the conference will deliver the course to hundreds of law enforcement officers around the country,” said Whalen. “This is a vital, boots-on-the-ground educational outreach.”
Much like Hillsdale’s online courses, the Law Enforcement Constitution Course focuses on American political theory, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, to teach police officers about natural law, natural rights, the necessity of consent, and the purpose of the federal government. It was designed to give law enforcement officers at the state, local, and federal levels a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for the Constitution they have sworn to support and defend.
“Over the years many of us have lamented the lack of constitutional awareness and understanding present in policing,” said Jim Waddell, a participant and retired special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “The Law Enforcement Constitution Course teaching staff did an outstanding job explaining the history while simultaneously stressing the current relevance of the Constitution and answering questions posed by the attendees. I recommend this course to law enforcement personnel at every level. Its precepts will greatly benefit the individual officer, department, community, and nation.”
The course, which is available free of cost, includes instructor training, curriculum materials, and participant course materials for all levels of American law enforcement. For more information about Hillsdale College Law Enforcement Outreach, or bring this course to your department, visit hillsdale.edu/leo/. For photos from the conference, click here.
For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.