That’s 18 fresh faces to be exact. Each of the graduates will have over 1,000 hours under their belt, but that’s just the start of their training.

Matt Brown is the public affairs officer for the Springfield Police Department.

“Once they have completed the training, [and] have passed all of the tests that they are supposed to pass, then they go to what they call a field training officer or FTO process and that’s 13 weeks. It’s right at 520 hours,” says Brown.

The FTO process is an on the job training program that allows newbies to job shadow officers with more experience. After that training is over, they’re on their own, almost. Once they’re set free, each officer is closely monitored for an additional 1528 hours before they’re the real deal.

Brown says getting newly trained officers on the streets of Springfield is a necessity.

“We lose officers that move on to other positions, that retire, that quit for various reasons. It is a backfill to the positions that we have open now. So, having additional officers on the streets means that we’re able to do the basic services that the community expects of us: Answering 911 calls [and] follow-up investigations. It’s critical that we backfill the positions that we lose every year,” says Brown.

Sixteen of the 18 officers graduating this week hold bachelors degrees from various colleges. A few of the graduates hold prior military experience as well.

The graduation ceremony will be held December 10th at the Springfield Art Museum.

For KSMU News, I’m Chasity Mayes.

The New York City Police Department plans to cancel a 2010 police NYPD Police Academy Class because of budget cuts.

At a City Council public safety committee meeting Tuesday, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that there will be no police academy next January to meet the city’s mandate that the department decrease their ranks by 1,000 officers.

That would bring the head count in the nation’s largest police department to 34,771. That’s down from an earlier projection of 37,838.   Over 3,000 fewer officer will be walking the beat on the New York City streets.

The Police Commissioner said the city will hire a class of 1,600 recruits in July 2010.Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said that it was “time to stop cannibalizing the NYPD for the sake of the budget.”

The city could end up hiring more police officers through President Barack Obama‘s stimulus package, however that still remains to be seen.

The purpose of the New City Police Academy is to train and produce a basically trained Police Officer prepared to serve in the New York City Police Department. The New York City Police Academy is approximately 9 months.

Physical Training and Tactics

The Physical Training and Tactics Department continually seeks to improve the effectiveness of its training. The unit continues to refine its approach to training recruit officers on an ongoing basis. As an example, when they first entered the Police Academy, about two-thirds are unable to complete the newly instituted physical fitness examination. However, as a result of the Physical Training and Tactics Department’s efforts, over 99 percent of every recruit class since January 2004 has successfully met the new graduation requirement.

Recruit Integrity

The mission of the Integrity & Discipline Unit is to ensure that Recruit Police Officers assigned to the Police Academy’s Recruit Training Section are aware of, and are adhering to, Department regulations throughout the training period.

Additionally, the Unit is responsible for identifying, placing, and monitoring Recruit Officers on Disciplinary Probation and Special Tracking: two designations that identify Recruit Officers with poor disciplinary records. The Unit also conducts initial investigations of minor misconduct and other incidents on behalf of the Commanding Officer, Recruit Training Section.

Firearms and Tactics

The firearms training include familiarity and proficiency with a firearm. Recruits are required to qualify with the firearm that they

The Firearms and Tactics section currently has 135 certified New York State General Topics and Firearms Instructors on staff. There are 6 New York State certified Master Instructors on staff, who are responsible for conducting and teaching the Firearms Instructor Schools, in addition to their regular duties. Also on staff are 12 New York State certified Instructor Evaluators and 4 New York State Defensive Tactics Instructors. The unit also has numerous instructors certified to conduct training in the use of M/X-26 Tasers, Pepper Spray, Expandable Batons and Simunitions.

Driver Training

Officers attend driver training courses for “Department-Qualification” in various types of vehicles, i.e. Police Vans, Patrol Wagons, Bicycles, Scooters, Buses, Tow Trucks, etc. Courses include “Hands-On” vehicle instruction in addition to classroom lectures and discussion on “Defensive Driving Techniques & Skills”.

The EVOC portion of the Driver Training Program is a series of individual stations connected in a continuous oval pattern on the driving field. Each station is designed to replicate the required driver actions and vehicle movements needed for safe operation and collision avoidance.

Offsite (street/highway) exercises include actual street and highway driving skills where driving instructors assess students basic driving skills (turns, entering intersections, parking, space cushion, etc., and proactive defensive driving skills.

The training programs available through the Driver Education and Training Unit include:

• Recruit RMP Training Course
• 12 Passenger Van Training Course
• Four Wheel Drive (4X4) Vehicle Training Course
• All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Training Course
• Bus Training Course
• 2 & 3 Wheel Scooter Training Course
• Scooter License Training Course
• Scooter Refresher Training Course
• Patrol Wagon / Barrier Truck Training Course
• Accident Reduction Incentive Program Course
• Fuel Truck Training Course
• Accident Retraining Course
• Reinstatements Training Course
• Radio Emergency Patrol (REP) for Emergency Services Unit Personnel
• Command Post Vehicle (THV) Training Course
• Tractor Trailer Training Course
• Bicycle Training Course
• Tow Truck Training Course
• Box Truck Training Course
• Civilian Vehicle and Bicycle Training Course
• Two Day Accident Retraining Course

Contact Information

New York City Police Department Training Bureau

235 East 20th Street

New York, NY 10003

Phone: (212) 477-7633

Fax: (212) 477-9270

Police Academy Switchboard: 212-477-9700, 9701