This is an article by Richard Schoeberl and Anthony “Tony” Mottola, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, February 26, 2025.
Training standards ensure that all law enforcement officers receive a consistent level of knowledge and skills to perform their jobs safely and effectively. One training model implements the use of “pracademic” professionals and garners trust from practitioners as well as academics.
Learn how the integration of theory and practice can set a training standard that can be applied industry-wide.
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Richard Schoeberl
Richard Schoeberl, Ph.D., has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). He has served in a variety of positions throughout his career, ranging from a supervisory special agent at the FBI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to unit chief of the International Terrorism Operations Section at the NCTC’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Before these organizations, he worked as a special agent investigating violent crime, human trafficking, international terrorism, and organized crime. Additionally, he has authored numerous scholarly articles, serves as a peer mentor with the Police Executive Research Forum, is currently the chair of the criminal justice and homeland security graduate and undergraduate programs at the University of Tennessee Southern, and works with Hope for Justice—a global nonprofit combating human trafficking. He has served as an advisor withDomestic Preparedness Journalfor two decades.
Anthony (Tony) Mottola
Anthony (Tony) Mottola, Ph.D., has over 35 years of law enforcement and security experience, including the New York City Police Department, United States Air Force, and the National Basketball Association. He retired as a sergeant detective after 25 years as a member of the New York Police Department (NYPD). He served as executive officer for the NYPD Intelligence Bureau’s Strategic Unit, which is a covert counterterrorism initiative, and director of the Domestic Liaison Program. He represented the Intelligence Bureau in numerous investigations, including the Boston Bombing, civil unrest, mass shootings, and large-scale incidents outside New York City. During his tenure with NYPD, he worked additional assignments in Counterterrorism, Gang Intelligence, Detective Bureau, Task Force, Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, anti-gang/graffiti units, and patrol. He was a first responder/search leader for recovery efforts and supervisor of security details in the immediate aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. He is currently an assistant professor of criminal justice and homeland security at the University of Tennessee Southern.
