ACADEMY & FIELD TRAINING

Academy - Officers not already certified will attend an academy. Most officers hired with the Sioux City Police Department attend the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy located on Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa. The basic academy is 16 weeks long and recruits train Monday-Friday. Recruits live at the academy during the week and return home on the weekends. Certain individuals may be able to attend a 9-week academy at WITCC in Sioux City, IA. Law enforcement officers certified in another state have the option to gain certification in Iowa through examination.

The SCPD provides its recruits at the academy all their uniforms and required equipment, a city-owned vehicle to get them from Sioux City to the academy, full pay and benefits while attending the academy. The SCPD also pays for the tuition and room and board fees for its recruits attending the academy.

To learn more about the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and the basic academy curriculum, go to https://ilea.iowa.gov/basic-academy/.

Field Training - Once an officer is certified, they are given a two-week post-academy training with us. During this phase, they are provided additional training on verbal de-escalation, response to resistance, low-light tactics, and other areas with an emphasis on our department’s policies, procedures, and values.

After post-academy, the new officer will spend the next 17 weeks with an experienced Field Training Officers or FTO. During their time with their FTO, they will be taught everything they need to know to be able to handle calls for service. The FTO will explain and demonstrate the skills the new officer needs to learn and then coach them until they can handle calls on their own. The FTO grades their performance daily in 32 different categories such as driving, report writing, and officer safety.

During weeks 15 and 16, an FTO in plain clothes will accompany the new officer and grade their ability to handle calls for service on their own. Only after the new officer satisfactorily completes the Field Training Program are they allowed to hit the street on their own.

The Field Training process is intense, but it will prepare new officers for all that being a police officer entails. And even though an officer has completed Field Training, for the next year, their sergeant will continue to provide feedback and mentor them.