History of the Justice Academy
The North Carolina Justice Academy is a division of the North Carolina Department of Justice. Created in 1973, General Statute 17-D, formed the Academy and established its duties as, but not limited to:
- providing training programs for criminal justice personnel
- providing technical assistance upon request to criminal justice agencies to aid them in the discharge of their responsibilities
- developing, publishing, and distributing educational and training materials
- other actions as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to carry out its assigned duties and responsibilities
Divisions
Training Division
The Training Division is composed of a team of experienced and dedicated instructors covering various subject matters. Legal, Law Enforcement Leadership, Commission and In-Service, Tactical and Traffic, and Investigations are only a few of the disciplines covered by our instructors. The educational research and development team is also housed within the Training Division and includes the operation of a 20,000-volume library.
Support Division
The Support Division operates a full-service print shop, an audio/visual production unit that includes a graphic arts section, and a bookstore.
Campuses
Salemburg
The Academy’s eastern campus site in Salemburg has a long educational history. Established in 1875 as Salem Academy, this campus evolved from Pineland School for Girls, to Pineland Junior College, to Edwards Military Institute, then to Southwood College. The Salemburg campus uses the Blanchard Learning Resource Center, the Royal Classroom Building, the Jones Auditorium, a cafeteria, and an office building from the Southwood campus.
Over the years, Salemburg has added a new classroom building and learning resource center, dormitories, an administration building, a support services building, a maintenance building, a new state-of-the art gymnasium, classroom additions, firearms ranges, a driving track, and other practical exercise areas.
Edneyville
In September 1998, the Academy’s western campus opened in Edneyville. In 2004 it was named the Larry T. Justus Western Justice Academy, in honor of Representative Larry T. Justus. The western campus in Edneyville is located on the former site of the Edneyville High School complex. Renovations have resulted in modern classrooms, office space, a gymnasium, dormitory, and cafeteria. A state-of-the-art indoor firearms range opened on campus in 2011. Both campuses have wireless Internet access and onsite computers for student use.
In 2017, the Western Regional Crime Laboratory in Asheville moved into a new $15 million facility at the Edneyville campus. The crime lab performs blood-alcohol and toxicology tests, firearm analysis, DNA tests, and other services for western North Carolina law enforcement agencies.
