The New South Wales (NSW) Police Academy is set to increase the number of classes from August this year.
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"From August, we will increase the number of classes at the Police Academy from three to six. It means that after every eight weeks, a new class will commence at the Academy and by middle of next year, we will have four classes taking place at the same time instead of two. Three of these classes will be on campus while one will be online," said Superintendent Rodney Smith, Principal, NSW Police Academy.
He said that increasing the number of classes will be good for the community and the commands.
"Firstly, it is better for community and commands as well because they are getting regular input into their operational strength," he said.
"Secondly, we have to recruit extra 1,500 police officers in NSW over the next four years. It means the academy is going to be full for four years. By running six smaller classes instead of three larger ones, we will be able to maintain the balance and run other courses here as well at the same time."
Online learning will also be a component for students while completing their program as well.
"The program content hasn't changed, it's just the way we are delivering has changed a bit. For the next class that starts at the end of August, the first eight weeks of their course will be conducted online. We think it's better way forward for us and the students. So, we are using some online technology to build that product ready for August," Mr Smith said.
Preparations for delivering online classes are underway and will mainly include academics involving law and investigation.
"In order to complete the program, the students will have to finish classes at the Police Academy after completing the online course," Mr Smith said.
With an emphasis on physical fitness, the Police Academy is also building a new Oval which has a synthetic turf as well as the rubber four line track running on the outside.
The work on construction of Active Armed Offender Training Facility at the Police Academy is underway and is expected to be complete by December.
"We are currently exploring ways to enhance our program with the use of virtual reality. This is our only recruit training facility for the state and we need to make sure that it's maintained to a high standard. It's constantly evolving as their training needs change and we build infrastructure for that," he said.
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