QUANTICO, Va. —The FBI National Academy is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2025, spotlighting its legacy of building a global network of law enforcement leaders and enhancing interagency cooperation, according to a news release.
A recent child kidnapping case underscored the value of that network.
Ed Wittke, a retired police chief in New Jersey and National Academy graduate, was making dinner when he received a text from Eric Thunberg, a police chief in Wisconsin who was also a graduate of the program. Thunberg’s department was working an urgent case involving two kidnapped children believed to be held at a residence in New Jersey.
Although the two had never met, their shared Academy background enabled swift coordination. Wittke quickly connected
Thunberg with local authorities in the appropriate jurisdiction. Within minutes, officers located the children, made an arrest and ended a standoff.
“This is one example of thousands that show the importance of the NA network and how it helps law enforcement’s mission,” Wittke said. “It was really incredible. Again, this happens on a daily basis. But it just shows you how the NA network … how important it is and how it works.”
The National Academy was founded in 1935 as the FBI Police Training School, with its first class of 23 students meeting in a Justice Department building in Washington, D.C., according to the news release. In 1972, the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia, became its permanent home.
The 10-week leadership development program trains law enforcement officers from local, state, federal, military and tribal agencies. To date, 56,180 graduates from U.S. law enforcement agencies have completed the program, along with 4,340 international graduates from 176 countries.
