Otsego County Law Enforcement Academy

The Otsego County Law Enforcement Academy was founded by Otsego County Sheriff Donald R. Mundy, Sr. in 1995. The mission of the Academy was to provide a basic course for police officers in Central New York. Many of the communities in the area have small police departments, some with only part-time officers, who need access to this New York State mandated police training program. Sheriff Mundy recognized the need for a professional law enforcement training center that could provide the necessary basic training for police, as well as the ability to offer in-service training at a reasonable cost to all the officers working for these municipalities.

The Otsego County Law Enforcement Academy is pleased to support our Veterans and is a fully V.A. approved school.

Originally, the Academy was situated at the Otsego County Sheriff's office in Cooperstown, NY, but quickly outgrew those facilities. As the SUNY Oneonta University Police Department became more heavily involved in assisting the Academy, the Sheriff sought to expand University Police Department's role. Session #6 of the Basic Course for Police Officers was moved to the SUNY Oneonta campus, to take advantage of the increased space, modern physical fitness facilities and educational classrooms that are available at SUNY Oneonta. University Police joined with the Sheriff's Office to co-sponsor all the training offered by the Otsego County Law Enforcement Academy. Captain James H. Small, who had served the Academy as an instructor and administrative assistant, was named the Director and took over all of the responsibilities of coordinating training programs. From 2008-2018, Lieutenant Jonathan D. Bartlett served as Director of the Academy.

The Academy continues under the direction and leadership of Sheriff Richard R. Devlin, Jr. and the University Police Chief. The Academy has grown into the premier training center in Central New York.