SIX SOUTH FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS GRADUATE FROM FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY

MIAMI, Florida — September 17, 2026 — Six South Florida law enforcement officers have graduated from the FBI National Academy after completing an intensive 10-week leadership and professional development program at the FBI’s training facility in Quantico, Virginia.

FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles announced the graduation of the six officers from National Academy Session 299 following a ceremony held September 17 in Quantico. The graduates represent municipal police departments and the Broward Sheriff’s Office across South Florida.

The graduates are Major Perry Beckford of the Hollywood Police Department, Lieutenant Roberto Valdes of the Miami Police Department, Lieutenant Martin Santiago of the Key Biscayne Police Department, Assistant Chief Seymour Council of the Plantation Police Department, Major Jennie Hoff of the Coral Gables Police Department, and Lieutenant Colonel Christopher De Giovanni of the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

According to the FBI, National Academy graduates represent less than one percent of law enforcement officers in the United States. The six South Florida officers were selected by their departments and completed the program alongside approximately 250 other law enforcement professionals.

The FBI National Academy is designed for experienced law enforcement leaders rather than new recruits. Participants receive advanced instruction in leadership, communication, management, fitness, and other areas intended to prepare senior officers for complex public safety responsibilities. The program also emphasizes professional networking across agencies and jurisdictions, creating long-term working relationships among command-level personnel from across the United States and other countries.

The Academy operates from the FBI training complex in Quantico, where the Bureau also trains new special agents, intelligence analysts, and other law enforcement partners. The FBI describes the facility as a major national center for law enforcement training and research, with instruction built around both classroom education and operational scenarios.

Session 299 continues a program that dates back to 1935, when the first National Academy class consisted of just 23 students. Since then, the program has expanded to roughly 1,000 participants each year, and more than 56,000 law enforcement professionals have graduated since its creation.

Participants are drawn from agencies across all 50 states, U.S. territories, and more than 150 international partner nations. That broad participation allows officers to exchange strategies, compare investigative and leadership practices, and build working relationships that can later become important during multi-jurisdictional investigations, emergency response operations, organized crime cases, cyber incidents, and other matters extending beyond a single agency’s boundaries.

The National Academy has long focused on developing command-level officers who are expected to return to their agencies and apply what they learned locally. The FBI describes the program as a continuing-education benchmark intended to strengthen law enforcement standards and prepare leaders to confront changing criminal and public safety challenges.

South Florida agencies have maintained a steady presence in recent National Academy sessions. In March 2025, six officers from the region graduated from Session 293, followed by another six South Florida officers in Session 294 in June 2025. Seven South Florida officers had also graduated from Session 291 in September 2024.

That recurring participation reflects the program’s role in developing leadership across a region with complex law enforcement demands. South Florida agencies routinely confront organized crime, narcotics trafficking, financial fraud, cybercrime, violent crime, human trafficking, international criminal activity, and major-event security concerns, often requiring coordination among municipal departments, sheriff’s offices, federal agencies, and international partners.

For officers reaching supervisory and command positions, the challenge extends beyond individual investigations. Senior leaders must manage personnel, budgets, emergency response, interagency relationships, public trust, internal accountability, technology, intelligence sharing, and rapidly changing threats. The National Academy is structured to address those broader responsibilities.

The FBI says its goal is to strengthen both the personal and professional development of law enforcement leaders through education, research, innovative training techniques, and partnerships that extend well beyond the classroom.

For Major Perry Beckford, Lieutenant Roberto Valdes, Lieutenant Martin Santiago, Assistant Chief Seymour Council, Major Jennie Hoff, and Lieutenant Colonel Christopher De Giovanni, graduation from Session 299 places them among a relatively small group of law enforcement professionals who have completed the FBI National Academy.

Their return to South Florida now brings that training back to six separate agencies, extending the impact of the program beyond Quantico and into the departments and communities where each officer serves.

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