MGCCC signs memorandum with Mississippi Highway Patrol

Criminal justice technology students at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College now have a direct link to their future careers.

MGCCC and Mississippi Highway Patrol signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a program to allow students to train with a state trooper for two semesters while in college.

Upon completion, they will have direct entry into highway patrol school.

Known as Candidates on Rapid Entry, the program will help the Mississippi Patrol stay staffed while also offering criminal justice students a pathway to a career. MGCCC President Dr. Mary Graham said, “In our criminal justice program we train individuals. They can go on to a university and complete that four-year degree, or they can complete a two-year degree with us and go straight into a law enforcement field. So, this is just another opportunity on the table for students, so they’ll be able to experience first-hand an instructor from the Mississippi Highway Patrol teaching a couple of these core classes, so they will be engaged in that.”

The new criminal justice program starts in the fall at MGCCC.