Lisa Lane McCarty is the Director of the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) Police Academy at Fitchburg State University (FSU) in Fitchburg, MA.
A strikingly unique model for police training, this program engages CJ students from their freshman year and continues through their senior year. After graduation, they continue to an on-campus academy, a bit shorter than most, since other coursework has been completed over the previous 4 years.
Students also earn credits towards a Master's degree and many continue at FSU for an MCJ! Graduates of police training and FSU are sought-after candidates in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Lisa Lane McCarty has been a practitioner in criminal justice for more than 30 years. She served as a Victim Advocate for prosecutor's offices and municipal police agencies. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Lisa has worked for the Municipal Police Training Committee for decades.
We talked about the clash of culture between police training and academia, the value of civilian professional staff in agencies, and the role of victim advocates in police agencies.
The FSU - MPTC police academy is an interesting and successful model. We discussed the difficulties and successes of police training in an academic setting.
Lisa joins the CopDoc Podcast on May 16th, 2023.