On Friday December 9, the Beaufort Police Department’s newest officer graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy with honors.

[caption id="attachment_4703" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Officer Dobbins"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/News-Dobbins.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-4703" title="News-Dobbins" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/News-Dobbins-198x300.jpg" alt="" width="198" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Joseph Dobbins was selected as class leader which meant he served as the liaison between his class and academy staff. In addition to his normal duties, he was responsible for making sure the class as a whole arrived on time with the proper equipment and performed administrative tasks.
He was also named as a “Distinguished Graduate” which means he maintained a grade point average of 96% or better.
Officer Dobbins is no stranger to high standards and responsibility as he recently retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Master Sergeant.  Now that he has completed his academy training, he will undergo the department’s field training.
Beaufort Police Chief Matt Clancy is very pleased with Officer Dobbins’ performance so far. He commented that “Officer Dobbins is off to a great start. He has the character and ability to be an excellent police officer and will be an asset to the department.”