A new arm of Criminal Justice takes flight at GNTC

With the state of law enforcement and the issues around everyone’s safety these days, one of the more welcome options on the horizon for many officers will be the use of drones. “Simply put, drones will have the ability to save lives.”

That’s the belief of Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) Criminal Justice Technology Director Tony Adams. After more than 13 years with Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles since 1989, and now with 15 years under his belt with GNTC, Adams says these unmanned and compact remote-controlled vehicles are helping change the way many departments are getting their jobs done.

GNTC has purchased two new DJI-series Phantom drones for the program’s use. The goal is to make these students flight-ready when it comes to the use of unmanned flight vehicles in the law enforcement arena. “As more and more departments deploy drones they continue to prove their value,” added Adams. “They provide incredible situational awareness to emergency services teams. Police officers, fire fighters, and SWAT teams across the country use drones for search and rescue, crime scene investigation, accident investigation, criminal pursuit, forest fire tracking, and damage assessment. Drones are not just toys or flying cameras.”

Georgia Northwestern Technical College Criminal Justice Director Tony Adams teaching a course within his program on the Walker County Campus in Rock Spring, Georgia. This year, learning about the use and operation of remote-controlled drones has become a part of the curriculum.

Students enrolled in Adams’ program on the college’s Walker County Campus will soon get the chance to have hands-on experience at flying and operating the Criminal Justice Technology program drones. “Everyone is really excited about it in the classroom,” said Adams. “We’ve been troubleshooting problems on the set-up of the drones and we are ready to get them in the air for flight and study.”

 As of late, drones have been used by authorities to assess situations in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in the Southeastern United States. From tracking weather to handling traffic situations, drones are allowing authorities across Florida, Texas, and other areas impacted by the most recent hurricanes, to have eyes on areas they would not usually be able to access easily.

The next term available for application into the Criminal Justice Technology program will be the spring semester at GNTC. Classes begin this January on all six campuses, as well as online. For more information about the program, visit the college at GNTC.edu or contact a Student Help Center on any one of our six campus locations at 866-983-4682.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Catoosa County Campus is one of six campuses the college offers in Northwest Georgia. The others are located in Floyd County, Gordon County, Polk County, Walker County, and Whitfield County, Georgia. Currently, GNTC offers more than 200 programs to nearly 6,000 students on-campus and online. GNTC has offered programs across the region for more than 50 years. Georgia Northwestern Technical College provides quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma, or a certificate in business, health, industrial, or public service career paths. This past year, 14,151 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,956 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 6,195 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.  For information online, visit the college at GNTC.edu, as well as on GNTC’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, WordPress, and YouTube channels. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.

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Don Foley Assistant Director, Marketing and PR