Re-imagining Police Academy Training

Changing American policing begins with who agencies hire and how they are trained. While there has been considerable attention paid in recent years to improving police recruiting, the way new officers are trained has changed very little. As the policing profession enters a time of enormous change and challenges, as well as greater expectations and scrutiny from the public, it is critical police academy training change too. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) has been examining the current state of police academy training in the United States, including through a national survey of police leaders. In addition, PERF has been studying pockets of innovations in police training, both nationally and internationally, and developing a set of guiding principles for moving police academy training forward. This webinar will summarize PERF’s work in this area and present its major findings and recommendations.

Attendees of this webinar will learn about the following:

• The results of a national survey of police leaders on the current state of police academy training.
• Innovative approaches that some academies are taking with respect to overall training philosophy, curriculum, and instructors.
• Best practices in integrating academy and field training for new officers.
• Guiding principles on what the police academy of the future should look like and how it should operate.