U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
                                                           
Special Report

State and Local Law Enforcement Training Academies, 2006

February 2009, NCJ 222987           
   
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This file is text only without graphics and many of the
tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in 
spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including 
tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/slleta06.htm

This report is one in a series. More recent editions may
be available. To view a list of all in the series go to
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#slleta.

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By Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D. 
BJS Statistician

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As of yearend 2006 a total of 648 state and local law
enforcement academies were providing basic training to
entry-level recruits in the United States. State agencies
approved 98% of these academies. This report describes the
academies in terms of their personnel, expenditures,
facilities, curricula, and trainees using data from the 2006
Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA)
sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. 

The 2006 CLETA, like the initial 2002 study, collected data
from all state and local academies that provided basic law
enforcement training. Academies that provided only
in-service training, corrections and detention training, or
other special types of training were excluded. Federal
training academies were also excluded. See the Methodology
section on page 11 for additional details.

Academies prepared trainees for a law enforcement career in a
variety of settings. They trained and certified recruits who
were employed as local police officers (92% of academies),
sheriff's deputies (70%), campus police officers (50%), state
police or highway patrol officers (21%), constables (16%),
tribal police officers (15%), natural resources officers
(15%), or transportation police officers (14%) (figure 1).
 
Some academies also provided training for jail officers
(25%), corrections officers (23%), probation and parole
officers (16%), fire marshals and arson investigators (16%),
private security officers (10%), firefighters (8%), emergency
medical technicians (7%), and animal control officers (6%).
About 2 in 5 academies provided pre-service training for
individuals not sponsored by an employing agency (39%).

In addition to basic recruit training, 87% of academies
provided in-service training for active-duty officers and for
officers in specialized units such as K-9 or special weapons
and tactics (SWAT) units. A majority also provided training
for first-line or higher supervisors (57%), and field
training instructors (54%). 

State and local law enforcement training academies employed
about 10,000 full-time instructors and 28,000 part-time
instructors during 2006. Academies' operating expenditures
averaged about $1.3 million, with about $33,000 spent per
full-time equivalent employee, and about $16,000 spent per
recruit who completed training in 2005.

Overall, an estimated 57,000 recruits entered basic training
programs during 2005. On average these programs included 761
hours of classroom training. A third of academies had an
additional mandatory field training component with an average
length of 453 hours. About 6 in 7 recruits completed their
basic training program and graduated from the academy. 

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Detailed information is available in appendix tables in the
online version of this report on the BJS website at
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/slleta06.pdf.
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Colleges and universities operated about half of law
enforcement training academies 

Of 648 state and local law enforcement training academies
operating during 2006, a total of 292, (45%) were operated by
an academic institution, such as a 2-year or 4-year college,
a university, or a technical school (table 1). Municipal
police departments were the primary operating agency for 143
academies, 22% of the total. 

Sheriffs' offices operated 57 academies (9%), and state
police and highway patrol agencies operated 44 academies
(7%). State Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
Commissions, the agencies typically responsible for
certifying law enforcement officers in each state, operated
25 academies (4%) nationwide. Although most agencies had a
primary operating agency, 82% reported they provided basic
law enforcement training for candidates from multiple
agencies (not shown in table).

Nearly 3 in 4 academy instructors were employed on a
part-time basis

Academies relied heavily on part-time personnel, employing
about 28,000 during 2006. About half (51%) of these part-time
instructors worked at college and university academies. Of
the approximately 10,000 full-time academy instructors
nationwide, about a third (34%) were employed by municipal
police academies. 

About a fifth of academies employed the full-time equivalent
of 50 instructors or more, including 6% with 100 or more
(table 2). Academies with the full-time equivalent of 50 or
more instructors employed about three-fifths (62%) of all
full-time instructors, and about half (48%) of part-time
instructors.

Approximately half (52%) of academies employed the full-time
equivalent of 25 instructors or more. These academies
employed more than four-fifths of both full-time (86%) and
part-time (81%) instructors. 

Academies employed nearly 4,000 sworn personnel as full-time
instructors

About two-fifths (39%) of full-time academy instructors were
sworn officers permanently employed by, or permanently
assigned to, the academy (table 3). Other types of full-time
instructors included off-duty sworn officers compensated to
teach (18%), civilians employed by, or permanently assigned
to, the academy (16%), and on-duty sworn officers temporarily
assigned to the academy (15%). 

Nearly half of part-time training academy instructors were
off-duty sworn officers compensated to teach (46%). On-duty
sworn officers temporarily assigned to the academy accounted
for a fifth of part-time instructors.

Academies employed an average of 16 full-time and
43 part-time instructors

On average, academies employed the full-time equivalent of 37
instructors, including 16 full-time personnel and 43
part-time personnel (table 4). Academies operated by state
POST commissions were the largest, employing on average the
full-time equivalent of 70 instructors. POST academies
averaged 30 full-time instructors and 81 part-time
instructors. College and university academies (29) had the
lowest average number of full-time equivalent instructors,
averaging 49 part-time and 5 full-time instructors.

About 2 in 3 academies had a minimum experience requirement
for full-time instructors 

Just over two-thirds (68%) of training academies required
their full-time instructors to have a minimum number of years
of law enforcement experience (table 5). Among academies with
a minimum experience requirement, the average was about 4
years. Average requirements ranged from 3.2 years at county
police academies to 4.5 years at college and university
academies.

About 1 in 5 academies had a college degree requirement for
full-time instructors 

Overall, 19% of the academies required their full-time
instructors to have a college degree (table 6). Slightly more
academies required a 4-year degree (11%) than required a
2-year degree (8%). College and university academies (35%)
were the most likely to require a degree, including 22% with
a 4-year degree requirement.

All except 3% of academies required their full-time
instructors to be certified

Nearly all (97%) academies required their full-time
instructors to be certified (figure 2). Eighty-nine percent
of academies required full-time trainers to have a
state-level certification, and 62% required certification as
a subject-matter expert. A less common requirement was
certification by the academy (25%).

About 7 in 10 academies provided refresher training for their
full-time instructors

Seventy-one percent of academies provided ongoing or
refresher training for their full-time instructors (table 7).
More than 8 in 10 academies operated by a state POST
commission, state police agency, or sheriff's office provided
refresher training. 

About two-thirds of academies used input from academy staff
(68%) and state commissions (65%) to develop the content of
instructor refresher training. Other sources included subject
matter experts (46%), job task analyses (38%), and law
enforcement advisory boards (22%) (not shown in table). 

More than 9 in 10 academies used student input in their
performance evaluations of instructors 

Ninety-three percent of training academies used student
evaluations as part of the overall performance evaluation of
academy instructors (figure 3). Supervisory evaluations (74%)
were also widely used. Less common were peer evaluations by
other trainers (29%). 

Two-thirds of academies offered online classes; half offered
classes using video conference technology

Academies owned or had access to a wide range of educational
facilities and resources for training purposes. Nearly all
academies provided access to computers (98%), including 64%
with mobile computer access (table 8). Nearly 9 in 10
academies provided access to a library (87%), including about
half with one on-site (47%).

About 3 in 4 academies provided access to a media lab or
video production facility (74%), and about half of these were
on-site facilities (36%). Use of advanced communications
technologies for learning was evident in many academies
through the availability of online classes (66%), video
conference classes (49%), and satellite information services
(36%). 

Nearly all academies had training facilities related to
weapons use, physical fitness, and driving

Nearly all (96%) academies had access to an outdoor firearms
range and a defensive tactics room for weapons and
self-defense training. Nearly 8 in 10 academies provided
access to a scenario training facility (79%) and a firearms
training simulator (75%), and both were usually a part of the
academy. For more information on weapons and self-defense
training, see appendix tables 1 through 3. 


Recruits' physical fitness and agility were enhanced and
assessed using weight rooms (93%), gymnasiums (88%), and
obstacle courses (68%). These facilities were more likely to
be a part of the academy than to be off-site. Nearly half of
academies provided access to a swimming pool (43%), and 7%
had their own pool. 

For driving-related training, nearly all academies had access
to a vehicle operation range (95%), and about a third had one
within the academy (32%). About a third of academies had
access to driving simulators (32%), and about half of these
were academy-based.

Academy operating expenditures averaged about $16,000 for
each recruit who completed training 

The average total operating expenditure for training
academies during fiscal 2005 was nearly $1.3 million (table
9). Academies operated by state POST commissions ($3.6
million), county police departments ($3.1 million), or state
police and highway patrol agencies ($2.9 million) had the
highest average expenditures. Academies operated by colleges
and universities ($441,800), or sheriffs' offices ($873,000)
had the lowest average expenditures. 

Academies operated by state POST commissions ($71,800),
county police departments ($67,200), or state police and
highway patrol agencies ($67,100) reported operating
expenditures per full-time equivalent employee that were more
than double the overall average ($32,600). College and
university academies had the lowest operating expenditures
per employee ($17,200). 

The overall average operating expenditure per recruit who
completed training was $16,100, ranging from $52,700 per
recruit at county police academies to $7,400 per
recruit at college and university academies.

Operating expenditures per recruit were higher at larger
academies

Academies with 50 or more full-time equivalent instructors
had operating expenditures that averaged more than $20,000
per recruit who completed training (figure 4). Academies with
25 to 49 full-time equivalent instructors were next highest
with an average of about $16,000 per recruit. Academies with
fewer than 10 full-time equivalent instructors had the lowest
average expenditure less than $10,000 per recruit.

About half of academies charged tuition to help 
meet operating costs during 2006

Fifty-two percent of academies received at least part of
their funds from student tuition (figure 5). About half also
received funding from state (51%) and local (44%)
governments. About a third of academies charged student fees
for the use of certain facilities, resources, or equipment
(34%), and about a third received funds from law enforcement
agencies sponsoring recruits (33%). A fifth of academies
received state or federal grant funding.

The average basic recruit training program lasted 
19 weeks 

Excluding field training, the average length of basic recruit
training programs was 761 hours, or about 19 weeks (table
10). On average, county police academies (965 hours) had the
longest training programs, followed by municipal police (883)
and state police (881) academies. Academies operated by state
POST commissions had the shortest programs, averaging 604
hours. 

A third of academies included mandatory field training in
their basic training program

A majority of county police (79%), municipal police (64%),
and state police (57%) academies included field training in
their requirements for recruits to finish the basic training
program. Overall, 33% of academies had such a requirement.
College and university academies (13%) and state POST
academies (8%) were the least likely to include field
training in their basic training program. When not part of
the basic training program, field training was typically
handled by the agency employing the recruit.

Among academies with a mandatory field training component,
the average program length was 453 hours, ranging from 1,678
hours at state POST academies to 225 hours at college and
university academies. 

Basic training included a median 60 hours of firearms
instruction and 51 hours of self-defense instruction

Recruits spent the most time learning firearms skills (median
instruction time of 60 hours) and self-defense skills (51
hours) (table 11). The next highest median was for health and
fitness training (46 hours). Nearly all academies also
trained recruits in procedures related to patrol,  
investigations, and emergency vehicle operations with a
median instruction time of 40 hours each. 

Basic first aid (24 hours) and report writing (20 hours) were
also included in the basic training program of nearly all
academies. Recruits also received a median of 8 hours
training on the use of computers and information systems,
although such training was limited to 58% of academies. 

Legal training was included in all basic training programs
with a median of 36 hours of instruction in criminal law and
12 hours in constitutional law. Nearly all academies provided
instruction on cultural diversity (a median of 11 hours),
community policing strategies (8 hours), and mediation
skills/conflict management (8 hours). Special topics covered
by basic training programs included domestic violence (a
median of 14 hours), juveniles (8 hours), domestic
preparedness (8 hours), and hate crimes (4 hours). 

Two-thirds of academies used input from academy staff to
assist with curriculum development

Nearly all academies used state mandates (95%) to guide their
curriculum development, and about two-thirds used input from
academy staff (67%) (figure 6). About half used subject
matter experts (53%), job task and needs analyses (50%),
departmental objectives (46%), and legislative or regulatory
mandates (45%). 

Community policing instruction increased slightly from 2002
to 2006

With the exception of prioritizing crime problems (no
change), there was a slight increase in the percent of
academies providing basic training on each community policing
topic in 2006 compared to 2002 (figure 7). During 2006 more
than 8 in 10 academies provided training on identifying
community problems (85%), and the history of community
policing (83%). More than half of academies provided training
on the environmental causes of crime (62%), prioritizing
crime problems (62%), using problem-solving models (60%), and
organizing/mobilizing the community (54%).

Despite increases since 2002, less than half of academies in
2006 provided community policing training on assessing the
effectiveness of problem-solving responses (45%), creating
problem-solving teams (43%), analyzing crime/calls for
service data (38%), using crime mapping to analyze community
problems (36%), or applying research methods to study crime
and disorder (35%). 

From 2002 to 2006, sizable increases were observed in
terrorism-related training 

Overall, 90% of academies provided basic training on
terrorism-related topics in 2006, up from 80% in 2002.
Training on the National Incident Management System
(NIMS)/Incident Command System (ICS) was provided by 70% of
academies in 2006 (not included in 2002 survey).

For those topics included in both survey years, more
academies provided training in 2006 than in 2002 (figure 8).
For example 70% of academies trained recruits on responding
to use of weapons of mass destruction in 2006 compared to 57%
in 2002. 

Understanding the nature of terrorism rose to 62% (up from
48% in 2002) and an overview of relevant agencies such as the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rose to 57% (44% in 2002).
Other terrorism-related topics and the percent of
academies covering them in 2006 and 2002 included 
inter-agency information sharing (44%, 33%), intelligence
gathering (44%, 28%), the role of anti-terrorist task forces
(35%, 15%), related technology and equipment (33%, 21%),
post-incident stabilization of the community (31%, 13%), and
intelligence analysis (26%, 11%).

Median class size ranged from 18 recruits for the smallest
classes to 29 for the largest

Nearly all (98%) academies used a class structure where
groups of recruits went through training at the same time.
Academies trained a median of three recruit classes that
started in 2004 or 2005 and finished in 2005 or 2006 
(table 12). The median smallest class size among all
academies was 18 recruits, and the median largest class size
was 29 recruits. On average, state POST (medians of 25 and
48), and state police (26 and 44) academies had the largest
classes.

Nearly 57,000 recruits entered basic training classes during
2005

An estimated 56,934 recruits entered state and local law
enforcement academies during 2005 (table 13). College and
university academies received the most recruits, with 36% of
the overall total. Municipal police were next with 20%,
followed by state POST academies with 13%. By academy size,
about half (49%) of recruits entered basic training programs
at academies with 50 or more full-time equivalent instructors
(see appendix table 4). 

A sixth of recruits entering basic training were women

Among academies providing demographic data, 70% of the
recruits who started basic training were non-Hispanic whites
(figure 9). Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics accounted for
13% each, and 4% were members of other races. About 83% of
recruits entering training were male (not shown in figure).

Academies used a variety of tests to evaluate recruits 

Nearly all academies evaluated recruits with written tests
(97%) and skills proficiency tests (97%) (table 14).
Academies administered a median of 16 written tests and 5
skills proficiency tests to each recruit. Physical fitness
tests were used by 85% of academies with a median of three
such tests administered. Scenario-based tests were used by
74% of academies with a median of six used. A majority of
academies also used knowledge tests constructed by a state
POST commission or other state-level agency (59%), and state
competency exams (56%).

About 6 in 7 recruits who started basic training completed it

Overall, 86%, or about 49,000, of the estimated 57,000
recruits who started basic training during 2005, completed it
and graduated from the academy (table 15). State POST
academies (93%) had the highest overall completion rate,
followed by multi-agency academies (89%). Municipal police
academies and college and university academies each matched
the overall completion rate of 86%. County police (82%),
State police (81%), and sheriffs' academies (80%) had the
lowest overall completion rates.

When measured in terms of averages, state POST academies
(95%) had the highest mean completion rate, while sheriffs'
offices (96%) and state POST academies (95%) had the highest
median rates. The lowest average completion rates were at
county police academies (80% mean, 84% median) and State
police academies (81% mean, 83% median).

By size of academy, those with 100 or more full-time
instructors (89%) had the highest overall completion rate,
and academies with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent
instructors (84%) had the lowest (table 16). The largest
academies also had the highest mean (90%) and median (93%)
completion rates. 

White recruits had a higher completion rate than minorities;
males higher than females

Among academies reporting demographic data for classes
starting in 2005, 72.6% of recruits who completed training
were white compared to 70.1% of those who started training
(table 17). There was a corresponding decrease in minorities
from 29.9% of recruits starting training to 27.4% of those
completing it. The percentage of women starting training was
16.8%, but dropped to 15.5% for those completing training.

These differences are accounted for by differences in the
completion rates for each race and gender group. By race,
whites (87%) had the highest completion rate (table 18). The
next highest completion rates were for Hispanics (82%), and
blacks (81%). Recruits of other races (78%) had the lowest
completion rate. Without regard to race, male recruits (87%)
had a higher overall completion rate than female recruits
(80%).

White males had a completion rate of 95%, followed by white
females and black males at 88% each

When race and gender are combined, white males (95%) had the
highest overall completion rate (figure 10). Next highest
were white females and black males with 88% each. Hispanic
males (85%) were the only other group with a completion rate
over 80%. 

A majority of recruits were trained in academies more
oriented toward a stress-based military model than a
non-stress academic model

The more traditional stress-based model of training is based
on the military model and typically includes paramilitary
drills, intensive physical demands, public disciplinary
measures, immediate reaction to infractions, daily
inspections, value inculcation, and withholding of
privileges. Proponents of this approach believe it promotes
self-discipline in recruits resulting in a commitment to
follow departmental policies, better time management, and
completion of duties even when undesirable.

The non-stress model emphasizes academic achievement,
physical training, administrative disciplinary procedures,
and an instructor-trainee relationship that is more relaxed
and supportive. Proponents of this approach believe it
produces officers better able to interact in a cooperative
manner with citizens and community organizations, and
therefore more suited to the problem-solving approaches of
community-oriented policing.

The 2006 CLETA asked academies to describe the environment of
their basic training program on a four-point scale as
predominantly stress, more stress than non-stress, more
non-stress than stress, or predominantly non-stress.

Fifteen percent of academies, training 15% of recruits,
reported their training environment was predominantly
stress-based (table 19). An additional 38% of academies,
training 46% of recruits, reported their training environment
was more stress than non-stress.

State POST and college/university academies were the least
likely to have a stress-oriented environment

By type of academy, 43% of state police academies reported
their training environment was predominantly stress-based
(table 20). The next highest percentages were for academies
operated by county police (26%) or sheriffs' offices (25%).
More than three-fifths of academies operated by county police
(89%), state police (75%), sheriffs' offices (71%), or
municipal police (66%) had training environments they
described as either predominantly stress or more stress than
non-stress. 

State POST (16%) and college and university academies (13%)
were most likely to report using a predominantly non-stress
training environment. A majority of state POST (64%) and
college and university (60%) academies had training
environments that were more non-stress than stress or
predominantly non-stress compared to less than half of other
academies.

Completion rates for female recruits lower than for male
recruits in stress-oriented training environments 

In academies with a predominately stress-oriented training
environment, 80% of recruits who started basic training in
2005 completed it, compared to 89% in academies with training
environments that were more non-stress than stress or
predominately non-stress in their approach.

Type of training          Percent of recruits who completed 
environment                  basic training program
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Predominately stress                    80%
More stress than non-stress             86   
More non-stress than stress             89   
Predominately non-stress                89   
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In academies with a training environment described as
predominantly non-stress, female and male recruits both had a
completion rate of 89%, but as the stress orientation of the
training environment increased, completion rates dropped more
for female recruits than for male recruits (figure 11). 

In academies with a training environment that was more
stress-oriented than non-stress, completion rates for female
recruits dropped to 79% compared to 88% for male recruits. In
academies with a training environment that was predominantly
stress, the difference in completion rates between female
(68%) and male (81%) recruits was even greater.

Methodology

A master list of law enforcement training academies operating
in the United States was compiled from a variety of sources,
including professional associations, state law enforcement
training organizations, and existing BJS law enforcement data
collections. An initial screening verified telephone number,
mailing address, and other academy contact information.

The survey instrument was subsequently mailed to 734
academies. After the initial mailing, 13 additional academies
were added, resulting in a total of 747 academies receiving
the survey. During the course of survey administration, 99
academies were determined to be out of scope because they did
not conduct basic law enforcement training during the study
reference period. 

Of the 648 academies finally determined to be eligible to
receive the survey, all but one responded to all (or nearly
all) of the questions. A majority (54.3%) of the responses
were received by mail. About a third (34.2%) were submitted
electronically through the survey website, and 11.4% were
transmitted by fax.

Item response rates were higher than 99% for all questions
except the following: total number of recruit classes, 96%;
size of smallest and largest recruit classes, 87%; operating
budget for salaries and wages, 84%; operating budget for
other purposes, 83%; equipment budget, 78%; gender of
recruits trained, 78%; total number of recruits starting and
completing training, 78%; and race and Hispanic origin of
recruits trained, 71%. 

The estimated total number of recruits starting training
(presented in table 13 and appendix table 4) includes imputed
values for 130 academies. These imputed values were
calculated by first determining the ratio of recruits to
full-time equivalent employees for each type of academy, then
multiplying this ratio by the number of full-time equivalent
employees in each academy. The estimated number of recruits
completing training was calculated by multiplying the imputed
number of recruits starting training in each academy by the
overall percentage of recruits completing training for that
type of academy.

The completion rates presented in tables 15 through 18, in
figures 10 and 11, and in the text table on page 11, were
calculated using reported data for recruits in classes that
started during 2005 and finished in 2005 or 2006.

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of
the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael D. Sinclair is deputy
director.

This Special Report was written by Brian A. Reaves, Ph.D., a
BJS statistician. Lauren Giordano verified the report. Tina
Dorsey produced the report. Catherine Bird and Jill Duncan
edited the report. Jayne E. Robinson prepared the report for
final printing.

The 2006 CLETA data were collected and processed by the
Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) under the supervision
of Bruce Taylor. PERF project staff included Bruce Kubu,
Nathan Ballard, and Anthony Bellero. Additional information
on PERF is available on the Internet at
<http://www.policeforum.org>.

February 2009, NCJ 222987

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This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its
related statistical data and tables  are available at the BJS
World Wide Web Internet site:
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/slleta06.htm>

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