New Jersey Police Academy Announces 2024 Training Courses and Enhanced Requirements

The New Jersey Police Academy has announced its training schedule for 2024, including the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth basic recruit classes. The sixty-fourth class is set to begin on February 12, 2024, and the sixty-fifth class will start on August 5, 2024. Both classes will be co-mingled, allowing Class II Special Officers to participate and be eligible for a waiver of training after one year of employment as a SLEO II.

The Basic Course for Police Officers is comprehensive, including over 70 hours of physical fitness, 48 hours of firearms range training, 12 hours of MEB (Medical Emergency Basics), 80 hours of Defensive Tactics, and more than 250 hours of academic subjects. Applicants must be appointed employees of a municipal, county, or state institution and meet all standards prescribed by the New Jersey Police Training Commission.

A new requirement for all recruits is to pass a pre-academy physical fitness assessment. The first assessment is scheduled for December 16, 2023, with a re-assessment for those who do not pass set for January 6, 2024. Agencies are advised to begin their hiring processes earlier to ensure all necessary steps and paperwork are completed before the start of the class.

In addition to the basic recruit courses, the academy will offer specialized training programs. One such program is designed for officers who plan to teach at police schools or in their departments, focusing on teaching methods, goal setting, and classroom management. Participants in this course will be required to plan and present lessons on police-related topics, which will be evaluated by instructors and peers.