Graduation day for Allan Hancock College CORE Custody Academy Recruits

LOMPOC, Calif. – A special graduation ceremony was held Friday morning at the Allan Hancock College Public Safety Training Complex near Lompoc.

Nine recruits from the CORE Custody Academy Class 13 were recognized for completing the rigorous 260-hour course of training and instruction.

They will go on to work as custodial deputies in the county jail or in other local detention facilities.

Their instruction and training included emergency planning in a custody facility, arrest and control procedures, use of a taser and baton, classification of inmates and rendering CPR and First Aid.

"You're not really at the end of anything, you are at the beginning", said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown who delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony, "the beginning of a career in one of the most demanding fields going."

Seven of the nine recruits in Class 13 will go to work for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

The other two recruits accepted positions with the Lompoc Police Department.

Class 13 Valedictorian is Sheriff's Office recruit Stephanie Rodriguez.

Special thanks went to the CORE Custody Academy training instructors most of whom are retired law enforcement officers.