Sheriff's sergeants graduate Staff and Command School

The Lake County Sheriff's Office has announced the recent graduation of Sergeants Charles Crockett and Scot Kurek from the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University in Evanston.

The 10-week Staff and Command program was held at Northwestern University March 16 to May 22. Since the program's inception in 1983, the Center for Public Safety has graduated more than 14,000 students both nationally and internationally.

Sergeants Crockett and Kurek graduated along with 39 fellow students of SPSC Class No. 375.

The School of Police Staff and Command provides college level instruction in a total of 27 core blocks of instruction during each session. The major topics of study include leadership, human resources, employee relations, organizational behavior, applied statistics, planning and policy development, budgeting and resource allocation.

Each student is academically challenged through written examinations, projects and presentations and a research paper. Upon successful completion, students may be awarded a total of six units of undergraduate credit from Northwestern University in Evanston.

Sergeants Crockett and Kurek earned the opportunity to attend following a series of interviews with Sheriff's Command Staff.

Sergeant Crockett began his career as a Lake County Sheriff's Corrections Officer in 1999 and rose to the rank of Corrections Sergeant in 2008.

Sergeant Kurek began his career as a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy working Highway Patrol. From 2008 to 2012, he served with distinction in the Criminal Investigations Division. Kurek was promoted to sergeant in 2012 and returned to Highway Patrol Command.

Each year the Lake County Sheriff's Office selects leaders in both corrections and sworn personnel to attend the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command to facilitate leadership development and succession planning.