MSU's Coggins completes leadership classes

Midwestern State University's Chief of Police Patrick Coggins recently graduated from the Leadership Command College of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, a program that provides law enforcement administrators and executives with the skills necessary to effectively manage police agencies and deliver a high level of service to their communities.

Module I was taught at the Center for Executive Development at Texas A&M University and focused on leadership. Module II at Texas Woman's University focused on the political, legal, and social environment of law enforcement. The third and final module concluded at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, February 24 with training in law enforcement administration. 

Each of the three-week modules is taught by top national and international law enforcement experts. Topics include leadership, professional ethics and integrity, communication, and personnel management issues. The Command College curriculum also strives to keep participants on top of contemporary issues in criminal justice.

This program is one of many offered by the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), headquartered at Sam Houston State University. LEMIT has been educating law enforcement managers and executives since its inception in 1987. LEMIT offers numerous seminars, training for police chiefs, and the leadership program, which is one of the premiere law enforcement academies in the nation. LEMIT is funded by a surcharge on criminal court costs, providing essential professional development for eligible Texas law enforcement managers and executives. More than 1,000 Texas law enforcement personnel benefit from LEMIT training each year.

Coggins came to MSU in January 2016. He earned an associate degree from Western Texas College, a Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences from MSU, and a Master of Criminal Justice from Troy University.