Quantcast
Home » Police Academy Requirements

Police Academy Requirements

8 December 2008 9 Comments

Police Academies across the nation tend to follow state by state requirements.  Usually there is a governing authority for civil service that will place the standards for the Police Academy on a state by state basis; however as general rule we will give you some of the requirements that are generally accepted nationwide.

Many Police Academies do not allow open enrollment, however some states require you to be certified before applying for a Police Officer position with a municipality.  Some police academies require that you are hired by a police agency and then they will send you to the academy.  Other jurisdictions will offer the police academy as a college course of study, and once completed you would then be able to apply to a police agency for consideration for hiring.  Check your local police academy standards in reference to this.

Education: Usually a Police Academy will require you to hold a High School Diploma or a GED equivalent.  Some police academies do require a 4 year college degree or 3 years of generalized work experience as well.

Physical Fitness: A Police Academy will usually require a physical fitness exam.  Where most police academies differ is what the physical fitness consists of.  Most police academies require a run, whether it is a 1 mile, 1 ½ mile run, or more, under a certain predetermined time, depending on sex and age.

Successful Completion of Course: The police academy will provide many tests or exams.  Successful completion of these exams is required.  There will usually be many written exams, based on law, criminal procedure law, etc.  There will also be the physical fitness test, usually an entrance and exit exam.  There will also be defensive tactics exams to show proficiency in self defense, defensive tactics and arrest techniques.  There may be other exams as well as required by each local academy.

Every Police Academy is different so that it is important to check the standards and requirements with each local police academy.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Faves
  • Furl
  • MisterWong
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon

9 Comments »

  • Jake said:

    It was brief but definitely meets the requirements of a police academy. I just don’t like the college education part. Law school would be very helpful though.

  • Alexey DemyanenkoA said:

    Hello!//////Many years i dream to be an police officer…and now when I’m 27 i began to gather the documents to came to USA ……please tell me more about exams in police academy in NY…..I will wait for an answer. P.S. Sorry for mistakes.

  • Corey C said:

    I was just wondering, how old do you have to be to go to the Academy? 18 or 21?

  • admin (author) said:

    It would depend what state. Different states have different age requirements. I would suggest that you contact the local police academy or the police academy that you are interested in attending and simply ask them for their requirements.

  • Soraya said:

    Is a permanent resident (green card holder) eligible?

  • Shelby R. said:

    i live in corona california and i was wondering what a good close academy would be for me to apply for and how i would go about applying?

  • admin (author) said:

    Usually a green card is no issue. Check with the individual state to be sure, but most positions just require citizenship.

  • Al-DUD said:

    Shelby R- I live in the same area… RCC has an Academy starting in the summer & Fullerton C.C. also has an Academy. You’d have to pay your way through it & it doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a job, but with the economy being what it is, it might be the best way. I was hired by LAPD only to have my class canceled due to budget cuts. You might want to try S.B. county sheriff or L.A. County Sheriffs… Most city P.D. are going through such tight budget cuts right now, they are laying off recruits in the Academy or they have zero idea when they’ll have the finances to start hiring again. CHP (although I’d never want to EVER have that job) is usually always hiring, but their Academy is Sacramento, you have to live there for 6 months & I’ve heard its one of the toughest in the nation. -Best of luck

  • mone said:

    well there has to be an easy way to reach into becomeing a cop faster then 2-3 years in college. this does not give you a full and resionable way but its okay at least it gives u and example . but if you guys know an easyr way just post it ..

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.