Your First Year

 First, 26 Week Training Academy

You will attend a rigorous training academy that includes both physical fitness and scholastic components which are designed to prepare you for your career as a police officer.  Generally you will be on a day shift but academy times may vary depending on the phase of training.  For example, you will have to adjust for night firearms training and qualifications which generally occur from 1pm – 10pm.

The APD Academy is not a “live-in” academy, meaning at the end of the day you will return home, however you should expect to have homework assignments everyday and over weekends.  A few days before graduation from the Academy you will be introduced to a Field Training Officer “FTO” and be given your first On the Job Training Assignment “OJT”.

Next, At Minimum 4 Months of On-The-Job Training (OJT)

During OJT you will apply what you have learned during the training academy. OJT is all about exposure and learning, so each month you will be with a different field training officer (FTO), on a different shift, and in a different area command.  The APD Field Training Program is highly structured and designed to build you up from a new recruit, to a solo beat officer.  Benchmarks will need to be met to move onto the next phase of training and its not uncommon to get extended as learning occurs at different rates for different individuals.

You will learn patrol routines, basic investigations, and community policing.  Your FTO’s will strive to expose you to as many calls and different situations as possible.  When you have completed OJT you will either be assigned or potentially bid to a Sergeant in an Area Command as a solo beat officer.

Finally, Patrolman 2nd Class

You will be on probation for one year following the date of your graduation from the academy.  This includes the amount of time you spend on OJT.  As a P2/C your sergeant will be responsible for documenting your progress as a probationary employee in quarterly employee evaluations.  Upon satisfactorily completing one year as a P2/C you will be upgraded to patrolman 1st class P1/C.  APD Officers work along side a “beat partner” who is generally an officer with a similar beat assignment.  You and your beat partner will take most calls together however routine patrols will most commonly be conducted as a one-man unit.