NCJ Number
134338
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1992) Pages: 2-6
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The development of recruit training in Northern Virginia is described from 1965 until the present time.
Abstract
In the beginning, the basic school curriculum consisted of 11 weeks of training in academic, firearms, physical, and driver skills to reflect the needs of police officers who would be working in a well-educated society that had high expectations of its officers. Three training lieutenants managed the academy, and the instructors were volunteer officers with experience teaching in their respective departments. In the beginning, the typical recruit was a white male, high school graduate, recently discharged from the military. By 1975, the profile became more diverse consisting of females and minorities as well as college graduates. Additional changes in the seventies included increased staffing, permanent instructors, and lesson documentation. In the police recruit curriculum, minimum training standards were established, and performance testing, tactical decisions, judgmental shooting, officer survival, crisis management, and a driver training program were incorporated. Today the trainees, staffing, and curriculum components of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy continue to reflect changes in modern society in its curriculum.