and Crime Prevention Unit. While at UNT, I was also a departmental instructor. In addition to working fulltime for Denton ISD as a Law Enforcement teacher, I am fortunate to work as a Sheriff ’s Deputy for the Denton County Sheriff ’s Office Operations Support Unit (OSU). Is your officer personality different from you teacher personality?

Do you have any partnerships between your class and any local law enforcement agencies? The ATC Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security cluster is fortunate to have very strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies at the local, county, state and federal level.

Yes and no. It is important for me to separate my law enforcement profession from my teaching profession; regardless, the law enforcement personality makes rare appearances in the classroom. Why are you teaching your students how to handcuff? ATC Instructor, Jeff Arrington and his class practicing handcuffing techniques.

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nce a month, we like to take a look into what’s happening inside the classrooms at the Advanced Technology Complex. This month, we visited with Jeffrey Arrington, teacher of the Principles of Law and Law Enforcement classes at the ATC. The other week, we happened to stumble across him handcuffing a bunch of students all of whom had smiling faces. Thankfully, they were just learning the best ways to handcuff and be cuffed. No one was on their way to juvi, but it sure was fun to watch. Arrington came to our school from the law enforcement industry and knows his way around a pair of cuffs. We talked about that and more in the interview below. ATC: What was your job before you started working at Denton ISD’s Advanced Technology Complex? Arrington: Prior to working for Denton ISD, I was employed with the University of North Texas Police Department and supervised the Community Relations

Handcuffing is an incredibly important aspect of law enforcement work because there is a huge safety concern associated when you are placing handcuffs on an arrestee. It is a skill that must be performed correctly every time. I believe that handcuffing is a hands-on-skill that will benefit anyone interested in entering a law enforcement profession. Do you believe there is any sort of a law enforcement “gene” that people have or could anybody become an officer of the law? That is somewhat true. From what I have seen in my law enforcement career, many officers have that sheep dog mentality of protecting the general public. What are some other activities you do in class that you think will help prepare students for a career in law enforcement? Some of the other activities the students will be involved with this school year are pressure point control tactics (PPCT), crime scene investigations, traffic stops, basic patrol tactics, room clearing, hostage negotiations, and felony arrests.

Who is a law enforcement officer you admire? I admire all members of the Denton County Sheriff ’s Office Operations Support Unit. Every deputy that works on the unit is a non-paid Sheriff ’s Deputy and works countless hours because of their passion for law enforcement work and to the profession. Thanks, Jeff! You can learn more about the ATC at our website or Facebook page. Questions about the ATC? Call us at (940) 369-4800 or email: [email protected] or [email protected].

Denton ISD’s Advanced Technology Complex 1504 Long Rd. Denton, TX 76207