Police Academies and Police Academy Training

Police Academies are training schools for Police Recruits or people looking to become police officers. The Police Academy is usually 4 to 9 months depending on the Police Academy. Many of the State Police Academies require you to live at the academy in a dorm room type setting.

There are hundreds of Police Academies across the nation, on the local or municpal level, the State level, and the Federal level.

We will discuss some of the ways to prepare for the Police Academy and how to get started in a police job.

I am a former Police Drill Instructor and would like to share some of the information that I have obtained with my career in law enforcement and as a Police Instructor.

The Police Academy is a paramilitary training school.  The purpose of the Police Academy is to graduate basically trained police officers.  With this in mind, many of the police recruits will under go intense training including firearms training, emergency vehicle operation training, law, domestic abuse training, defensive tactics, physical fitness training, conflict resolution, report writing and more.

The Education portion of the police academy can prove to be difficult for many recruits.  You are required to learn and interpret the law.  Then apply the law to everyday situations that you will encounter.

The Physical Fitness portion of the police academy seems to be the most challenging for all recruits.  The main reason is that most people are not physically fit when they start the police academy.  The best thing you can do if you are stating the police academy is to start working out at least SIX months before you enter the police academy.

Firearms Training is probably the most exciting portion of the academy.  Most of the recruits that have never fired a weapon before do the best in this area, as they have no bad habits to break and are taught correctly the first time.

Defensive Tactics is the portion of the police academy where you learn to defend yourself and others with physical techniques.  You learn how to use your baton, effect arrests and handcuffing techniques.

Report Writing is probably the most boring portion of the academy.  It may be the most boring section of the academy, however you quickly learn that this is one of the most important parts of the Police Job.  I was once told, "if it is not in the report, it didn't happen".  The problem here is that grammar is not really a strong point for many police officers. 

Conflict Resolution is where you learn how quickly a bad situation can turn into a "cluster" if not handled correctly.  After the academy, you learn quickly that this is a good portion of the calls that you respond to.

Drill is my favorite portion of the academy.  Drill consists of marching and ceremonial moves that give police officers their spit and polish.  The real meaning behind drill is that the police recruit learns the instant, willing, obedience to orders.  In a dangerous situation, this will make the difference between life and death.

In all, the Police Academy is a life changing experience that many will not complete or drop out.  It is a physical and psychological test that weeds out the people that do not possess the skills or willingness to become a police officer.