GATESVILLE – Garrett Wayne Winslow was born to become a law enforcement officer and the young man is living up to that expectation.

On the heels of receiving both the Intermediate Law Enforcement Training Certificate and the Advanced Law Enforcement Training Certificate earlier this year, the Gates County Sheriff’s Deputy has now polished off another round of training and achieved Investigator status.

Winslow recently received his certificate of completion for the Criminal Investigator Certification Program through the North Carolina Justice Academy. This has been the culmination of six years of work and dedication to going to training classes at both the Eastern and Western campuses of the Justice Academy. All of these classes required travel and overnight stays, often for weeks at a time or longer.

“I first learned about the Investigator Program my first year with the Gates County Sheriff’s Office,” said Winslow. “To finish the program I needed to complete 500 hours of accredited training through the Academy over the course of five years. The program will also accept hours of training in the five years prior to the application if there are any. In light of this, I began taking as many courses as I was able to for five years and then applied, meaning I was only in the program for this year and then completed it.”

The program is designed to recognize candidates who have completed appropriate training in order to better prepare themselves for the rigors and challenges of Law Enforcement criminal investigations. Investigative techniques, details of legal changes, technological advances and the practical application of detectives “best practices” constantly change in a challenging world. Thusly, professional investigators who seek out that best practice training stand out from the rest.

Core courses for completion of the program include General Criminal Investigations, Interview and Interrogation, and Police Law Institute.

“This is truly one of my proudest accomplishments and I thank God for allowing all of this to happen,” Winslow stated. “I am also thankful to the Gates County Sheriff’s Office for allowing me to be away so often to successfully complete this program. I hope with the knowledge and training that I have received I can better serve the public.”

Gates County Sheriff Randy Hathaway noted Winslow’s work ethic will carry him far in the field of law enforcement.

“He’s a hard working and very dedicated young man,” Hathaway stressed. “Garrett is to be credited for his determination to better himself within our profession by seeking out programs such as the Criminal Investigator Certification Program. He is a valuable member of the Gates County Sheriff’s Office and I feel certain that the citizens of our county will benefit from his high level of training.”