The Basic Police Academy is a high discipline, moderate stress law enforcement training program. It is a demanding program both mentally and physically. The Basic Police Academy is the first of three parts included in basic training for police officers and deputy sheriffs. The goal of the program is to prepare cadets to be hired as a police officer or deputy sheriff in California and to give them the skills necessary to be successful in a field training program. The field training program builds upon what is learned in the Basic Police Academy and prepares an officer for solo work in the field.

All formats of the Basic Academy include curriculum mandated by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. A local advisory committee, that includes the Sheriff of Napa County, Solano County, and the chiefs from the law enforcement agencies in both counties, directs the academy on additional subject matter. Our academy program places a heavy emphasis on leadership, ethics, and community policing in every subject matter area. We also believe that officer safety and the ability to utilize proper tactics in the field is paramount to accomplishing the law enforcement mission. Over 30% of our instructional hours are dedicated to officer safety and field tactics. The curriculum is evolving continuously in order to provide the most contemporary approach possible.

Orientation for the basic police academy begins when a student makes a deposit and is issued an orientation package. Students are giving access to the Student Resource Center and assigned to read all of the academy's policy manuals. Orientation day begins with students working together to prepare a group resume. Students take an oath to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and become academy cadets. The rest of the day includes a complete overview of the academy's operational and graduation requirements. A family orientation is also provided for family members and significant others.

Training Day One begins with an introduction of the drill instructors. Cadets arrived dressed in their class "A" uniforms and learn basic drill and ceremony, formation and inspection procedures, and all of the official academy protocols.Drill instructors help cadets focus on "attention to detail" and adherence to instructions. The Academy's discipline model is used to develop time management, organizational skills, accountability, and a reliance on team work.

The Basic Academy is presented in a "high discipline, moderate stress" environment. The expectations are high and uncompromising. Cadets are challenged in a way that provides for the development of self-confidence and courage. This highly disciplined environment is carefully balanced by the academy training team who creates a learning environment that is positive and energized so that cadets are afforded every opportunity to be successful. Our staff is motivated by excellence in all that we do and we demand nothing less from our cadets. Together, this approach has established the Napa Valley Basic Police Academy as a premier training program in the law enforcement community.

The program fees include all books, binders, handout materials, physical training uniforms, hat, jacket, ammunition, and range supplies. Cadets are issued a USB memory stick that contains the entire P.O.S.T. workbook library and a wide variety of academy related reference materials. The use of these the P.O.S.T. workbooks has significantly improved Cadet performance on written exams and scenario tests. Each workbook contains study materials, self-assessment quizzes, chapter synopsis, glossary, and learning activities all designed to help cadets learn the complexities of law enforcement.

Cadets in every basic academy class use laptop computers with wireless Internet access for report writing, test taking, research, and to access the P.O.S.T. Student Workbook Library. Cadets are issued a USB memory stick that contains the entire workbook library, a wide variety of academy resource materials, and instructor handouts. This memory stick is fully interactive with the Internet and contains links to the academy's website and web board. It can be used in the field after graduation in order to provide reference materials that are useful in the field.  The academy now requires students to have access to computer with the Internet at home.

Cadets can expect to devote 1 to 2 hours of study each night in order to prepare for a battery of test questions that follow each block of instruction. The Basic Academy includes 26 written examinations, one mid-term, and one final written examination. The Academy Class is organized into four squads each with a Squad Leader. Four Squad Leaders and one Class Lieutenant are appointed by the Academy staff during the first week. These positions are rotated every two weeks giving every cadet the chance to be a class leader.

Law enforcement is a team oriented profession. Although it is true that most patrol officers work alone in a patrol car, no single officer can be effective alone. The academy emphasizes team work in a variety of ways. Cadets are required to form study groups. Instructors give small group assignments and hold the team accountable for the results. Each academy class, as a whole unit, is charged with developing and implementing a community policing project with the intent of enhancing the quality of life on the college campus.

Law enforcement officers must have an appreciation of diversity and a thorough understanding of issues related to tolerance, racism, and hate crimes. Academy classes travel to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and attend the Museum's Tools for Tolerance program. This program, designed specifically for law enforcement, includes touring several inter-active experiences including the holocaust exhibit. Cadets hear from a holocaust survivor and have the chance to learn about not only what happened, but how it happened.

The Fitness For Life training program is designed to teach Cadets how to develop and maintain good physical condition. The program includes traditional exercise, short distance sprinting, and distance running in order to develop both physical strength and cardiovascular endurance. Cadets train 3 to 4 days a week throughout the academy. By the end of the program, Cadets run at least 3 miles and pass the final physical test that includes push-ups, sit-ups, a 1.5 mile run, and an obstacle course, with a solid fence climb, a chain link fence climb, a body drag, and a 500 yard sprint.

One of the most exciting parts of the Basic Academy is the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course. Cadets receive an initial block of classroom instruction followed by three full days on the driving track. Cadets begin by learning proper backing and parking techniques followed by high speed and pursuit driving using new Crown Victoria police vehicles! The final test includes driving a timed course with over 200 cones and reaching the end without hitting more than two cones in just over two minutes.

The proper and effective use of force is a critical, sometimes life and death, decision making process. Cadets are instructed thoroughly on the laws related to use of force and how to effectively make use of force decisions. Tactical communications includes how to talk with people and to persuade them in an effort to gain voluntary compliance with the law. When this fails, law enforcement officers must use force. Academy cadets are trained in a variety of weaponless defense techniques, also known as methods of arrest and control.

Weaponless defense training includes many hours of hands-on practice including control holds, handcuffing techniques, take-downs, high-risk take-downs and handcuffing, handgun retention, long gun retention, and ground grappling. Cadets receive group and individual instruction and practice on each other. In addition, cadets learn how to safely search suspects for weapons. The final exam is a grueling demonstration of every technique.

This exercise challenges cadets physically and mentally. It develops self-confidence in the use of batons and weaponless defense, but more importantly it develops a survival mentality. This exercise simulates a dangerous and potentially life threatening encounter for a law enforcement officer. It allows a cadet to feel what it is like to be in just such a situation and provides a powerful experience that could never be taught in the classroom. Cadets often say that this exercise is one of the most fun and most important parts of their academy experience.

Many cadets come the Basic Police Academy with no experience handling or firing handguns. These cadets are often our "best shots." Instruction begins in the classroom with "hands-on" work. Cadets learn handgun safety, safety with guns in the home, and how law enforcement officers use a handgun as a "tool" in the job. The academy encourages cadets to wait to purchase a firearm until after firearms training is completed. The academy provides cadets with Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handguns (9mm) and all of the required gear for use while in the academy.

Cadets may use their own handgun (9mm, .40, or .45 caliber) if the range master approves. Training on the firearms range starts out with the basics using a 7-step draw as a foundation. Instruction moves quickly from static line shooting to more realistic combat style shooting. Cadets shoot in standing, kneeling, and prone positions using their strong and weak hand. Barricades are used to simulate building and other obstacles at distances up to 25 yards.

However, cadets must learn to handle a firearm and a flashlight while conducting building searches and other tactical operations in low light conditions. Learning to shoot accurately at night is essential since most officer involved shootings occur during the hours of darkness. Cadets are required to demonstrate the safe and accurate handling of a handgun and shotgun by completing three separate shooting qualification courses. All of these courses are combat style and involve movement and strict time limits.

The 12 gauge pump-action shotgun is a new experience for many academy cadets. It is a multi-function weapon that can be used to deploy traditional shotgun rounds, rifled slugs, chemical agents, and less-lethal munitions. Like the handgun, instruction starts with the basics an safety. Our goal is for graduates to leave the academy feeling confident in the use of the shotgun. Cadets are required to qualify with the shotgun in both day and low light combat style courses.

Cadets are trained with three different types of less than lethal chemical agents through a variety of hands-on experiences. Exposure not only prepares an officers for use of chemical agents on the street, but also allows them to understand the physical and psychological effects of the agent. Cadets learn how to survive an attack with chemical agents and how to take a suspect into custody safely. The exercises also allow cadets to learn decontamination procedures through first hand experience.

In today's world, it's not enough to be a keen investigator or just a good beat cop. Law enforcement officers must have a thorough knowledge of how to handle unusual incidents including everything from how to extinguish a fire to how to respond to a bio-chemical attack. We believe the best way for cadets to learn is by providing hands-on experience.

Law enforcement officers are first responders to any major incident involving a train. Active railroad exists or borders every jurisdiction in Napa and Solano county. The academy works in cooperation with Operation Life Saver to educate law enforcement officers on train safety, how to effectively enforce railroad related laws, and how to respond to a railroad related incident. Students learn how to stop a train in case of an emergency and how to interact with train crew personnel. Cadets learn through a hands-on experience provided by the Napa Valley Railroad.

Central to the successful prosecution of every criminal case is the discovery and proper collection of evidence. Academy cadets learn how to collect and package evidence, document crime scenes, and how to maintain a chain-of-custody, by participating in series of hands-on exercises. Cadets learn how to recover latent finger prints, recover and preserve blood evidence, how to sketch a crime scene, and how to document the entire process for use in court. The final test includes responding to a crime scene that is tied into one of the four investigative scenario tests. Cadets work in teams to write a basic search warrant and to effectively process the crime scene.

The Basic Academy concludes with four days of scenario testing that enable Cadets to apply what they have learned throughout the Academy in realistic role play scenarios. A total of 30 scenario tests, including reports, are administered over the four day period. During the last hour of the last night of testing, cadets who successfully pass each test assemble in a formation in front of their instructors. The Academy Director presents each cadet with a gold academy coin as a symbol of this huge accomplishment. The Academy Director is followed by a procession of instructors who congratulate each cadet individually.

The reward for completing the Basic Academy is the diploma given at graduation. Police academy graduations are major events at Napa Valley College and for the community as a whole. The ceremony begins at 10:00AM on the Saturday after the last day of class. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. The ceremony begins with a traditional formation march, with a bag piper, from the parade deck up to the gymnasium. A formal inspection is conducted by a chief officer.

After the inspection, Cadets march into the gymnasium to begin a ceremony typically attended by 1000 or more people. The Class President and Recruit Training Officer speak about their respective experiences. One of the very special part of the ceremony is the presentation of the achievement awards described below. Cadets swear an oath to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and are then certified by the academy director to have completed all of the basic training requirements to be hired as a full time peace officer. Completion of the Basic Academy is a huge accomplishment and one our Cadets are proud of.

The academy presents seven achievement awards and two scholarships during the graduation ceremony to acknowledge exceptional performance demonstrated during the police academy program. The criteria for these awards includes not only outstanding achievement as measured by the total score within a core dimension, but also the individuals ethical conduct and leadership shown while completing the activities that serve as the basis for the award.

The Officer Craig McCarthy Scholarship is given to the graduate who achieves the highest score in Physical Skills and Desire for Self Improvement. The Dr. Bruce Beckler Scholarship is given to the graduate who achieves the overall highest score in the academy.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ACADEMIC SKILLS Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score on the 27 P.O.S.T. written examinations and 15 academy specific written tests.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNICATION SKILLS Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score on 13 report writing tests, the individual cross-cultural research project presentation, and the final portfolio project presentation. This award strongly considers the impact of both formal oral presentations on members of the class.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PROBLEM SOLVING Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score on all academy activities related to decision making and problem-solving. This includes most role play scenario tests and the investigative practicum.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICAL SKILLS Given to the student who demonstrates physical ability and skill by achieving the highest overall score in defensive tactics, firearms training, emergency vehicle operations, and physical fitness testing.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERPERSONAL SKILLS Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score in role play scenario tests related to crisis intervention and victimology as well as in the research portion of the individual cross-cultural research project. Strong consideration is also given to how the student relates to others as evaluated by the academy staff.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SELF IMPROVEMENT Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score in the academy's ethics oral board, attendance during the academy, and in participation during physical training. In addition, strong consideration is given to how the student demonstrates self-awareness and self-improvement during the academy.

CLASS VALEDICTORIAN Given to the student who achieves the highest overall score in all six core dimensions included in the police academy. This award is the highest honor presented by the academy during the graduation ceremony.