Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – As South Texas College gets set to open its first police academy for the first time ever in Starr County, seasoned officers who have spent their entire career in the region say they are stepping up to train the next generation of aspiring law enforcement professionals.
In a community known for its strong ties to family, the academy’s new full-time instructor, Joel Rocha, says the program presents a unique opportunity for those eager to serve and protect their hometowns.
“We are rural and small, but Starr County is unique in the way that we have progressed, especially in an educational sense, and we are set to progress even more,” Rocha said. “Bringing this academy here, it’s a big milestone that we in the region have all been pushing for, for a long time. Now that it’s here, there’s no limit to what we can do.”
Born and raised in Rio Grande City, Rocha said his entire career in law enforcement has been dedicated to the citizens of Starr County. Beginning in 2003 as a detention officer, he climbed the ranks working in communications as a dispatcher, patrolled the streets as an officer and then worked as a criminal investigator before discovering a niche for teaching in 2013.
For more than a decade now, Rocha said he has taught license to carry classes and active shooter recognition courses for civilians. As the training coordinator for the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, he was also in charge of mandated training for new deputies.
“I have always felt the need to want to give back because I know what it was like when I started in law enforcement and there weren’t too many resources where I could go and get that extra training that I needed. This is where STC comes in,” Rocha said. “We’re establishing a new training resource for the future. We have the instructors; we have the technology, and we have the experience. This will be the perfect place to start a law enforcement career, and we are blessed to have it here in Starr County.”
Set to start this summer, STC’s police academy will be a comprehensive 26-week program to train aspiring peace officers with firearms and defensive skills and criminal and traffic law knowledge needed to serve and protect the community.
Students will complete most of their studies at the Starr County campus but will also utilize the technology housed at STC’s Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence in Pharr, which includes a state-of-the-art shooting simulator, driving simulator and virtual reality immersive training.
“It will be rigorous, and it will be demanding, but if you have the mindset to want to do it and get it done, you’re going to do it,” Rocha said. “We are not setting up our students to fail. As long as it’s instilled in your head and you want it, and you’re committed, you’re going to get through it.”
Plans for the program began in summer 2024 when STC was granted a Training Academy license by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) after successfully meeting rigorous standards in curriculum, facilities, and instructors. The process included an assessment of classroom settings, equipment and overall readiness to train recruits.
With the nearest academies in Pharr and Laredo, administrators at the Starr County campus say the impact for students in the region will be significant.
“The most important thing is the fact that students and the entire community will have a home to receive the education they need, be it in academics or at the new police academy if they choose,” said Starr County campus administrator Arturo Montiel, Ed.D. “This will be a very powerful thing once it gets going.”
Established in 2012 through a partnership with the city of Pharr, STC’s Police Academy has graduated hundreds of police officers over the years who now serve across the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. With its new independent license, the college has begun expanding its training services, starting last year at STC’s Mid-Valley campus, which successfully graduated its first academy class last month and now to Rio Grande City.
Currently, STC’s Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence offers two full-time daytime academies per year, along with a part-time evening program, in addition to a full-time academy in Weslaco. Requirements to join the program include a comprehensive application process and agility test.
For more information, visit southtexascollege.edu/academics/law-enforcement or call 956-872-4208.
