Academy Candidate,

The goal of the LVMPD Police Academy is to provide you with the best possible law enforcement instruction in a professional, motivating, intensely challenging, and disciplined environment. The staff's mission is to give you everything you need to succeed. You, however, must put in maximum effort in order to guarantee your success. We want you to be as prepared as possible upon entry into the police academy, which will assist us in helping you achieve your goal of becoming a police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. We feel the content on this site will provide you with the information required to get off to a great start. In these web pages, you will find a number of resources designed to help you prepare for attending the police academy. You will find helpful information on academics, writing, testing, physical fitness, defensive tactics, and firearms.

A few words of advice as you continue your preparation:

Arrive to the first day of the academy in excellent physical condition. Physical training is conducted nearly every day during the police academy and the training is rigorous and challenging. Recruits who do not show up "in shape", place unneeded stress upon themselves as a result of their poor fitness level. Over time, this will begin to have an effect on their performance in other areas, making it more difficult to be successful overall. While in the academy, you can expect to run distances increasing from two to six miles in terrain with numerous hills, as well as consistently do push-ups, sit-ups, air squats, leg lifts, agility drills, obstacle courses and numerous other physical activities.

The academics at the LVMPD Police Academy are at the college level. When you arrive for your first day, you will be issued a number of textbooks and manuals. Each book/manual will be thoroughly covered by the academy staff and instructors over the course of the academy and will be testable material for written exams, practical skills evaluations, and all the comprehensive tests. Be prepared to study and retain knowledge. This skill will be critical in your successful completion of the academy. Prepare yourself mentally for the challenges you are about to face.

Get your personal affairs in order prior to the Academy so that you have no distractions. The support of family and friends is essential during your Academy instruction. Involve them in your preparation and keep them involved as you progress through the training.

The process of becoming a police officer is long and difficult and it is designed that way for a purpose. You are about to enter into a profession that comes with an incredible amount of responsibility and, because of this, the academy process is taken very seriously. We expect 100% commitment from you in everything you do at the Academy. Anything less is not acceptable.  Get prepared. We look forward to you joining the ranks of one of the finest police departments in the country!

Respectfully,                
Lieutenant Richard Meyers, Academy Commander

Academy Overview

The Police Academy is over 1000 hours of instruction (28 weeks long) and is divided into two phases - Operational and Tactics: The Operations Phase trains recruits in the basic knowledge, skills and abilities, required of a Police Officer in the State of Nevada. The Tactics Phase builds on this and instructs recruits on advanced subjects, tactics, use of firearms, and emergency vehicle operations. Physical fitness and defensive tactics training are integrated throughout the Academy on a daily basis.​

Topics covered include:

  • Criminal, constitutional and civil law
  • Firearms training
  • Criminal investigations
  • Report writing
  • Patrol procedures
  • Traffic enforcement
  • Police administration
  • Police professionalism and ethics
  • Human relations and diversity
  • Vehicle operations
  • Defensive tactics
  • Physical conditioning 

Academics in the LVMPD Academy are very intense. You will be exposed to a course of study that will challenge you on a daily basis. The Academy course of instruction covers multiple disciplines as describes above, in a very short period of time, requiring active classroom participation, and demonstration of your understanding of the topics through ,evaluative processes. All instruction at the Academy is based on Adult Learning Theory that is significantly different from the formal education processes you are familiar with from elementary, high school, and college. You will be expected to be an active participant, use appropriate problem solving and decision making skills, demonstrate understanding by practical application, and display cognitive comprehension at various levels. Good study habits are essential. You can expect to study at home an average of four hours each night in order to be successful. 

There are multiple written tests in the Academy. Additionally, there is a final comprehensive written exam, critical policy test, and the Nevada Police Officer’s Standards and Training (POST) test. Recruits must pass the Nevada POST test to be certified as a police officer in the State of Nevada. There are nine practical application evaluations, known as Unit Training Reinforcement Evaluations (UTRE). There are also practical application tests for firearms qualification, vehicle operations, and advanced tactical skills. The final practical exam is the Practical Application Comprehension Test (PACT). This is a six- day practical evaluation of your ability to apply everything you have learned during the Academy in a simulated patrol environment. All UTRE and the PACT are Pass/Fail. Written tests require a minimum passing percentage score. This percentage varies from test to test. The Police Recruits must pass all tests, including, written tests for each instructional unit, practical problems for each instructional unit, firearms training, defensive tactics, fitness training, emergency vehicle operators course (EVOC).

There are 36 test points in the Academy. Failure of any test point will result in a written academic counseling. Recruits will then be given up to four hours of reinforcement training, if applicable, and then re-tested. Recruits who pass the re-test will rejoin their class. Failure of the re-test will result in a recruit failing that unit of instruction. Recruits who fail a unit of instruction will be remanded to an Academy academic review board. The board will determine if the recruit is eligible for recycle to the next academy class or if the recruit will be terminated from the Academy. Recruits can only be recycled one time. Failure of any test point in a subsequent Academy will result in automatic termination from the LVMPD.

The Academy setting has proven to be a challenging and a rewarding experience for the Police Recruits.

Police Field Training Evaluation Program

Once the Recruits have successfully completed the Academy, they graduate and receive their commission and the title of "Police Officer I." They then enter the Field Training Evaluation Program (FTEP). The goal of this program is to prepare new officers to perform as patrol officers in a competent, safe, and productive manner under the dynamic and sometimes, uncontrolled conditions of the street. This program is approximately 24 weeks in length. The new officers ride and work with up to nine different field training officers while they are being trained and evaluated in the program.