Our Training
Police Officers are fully commissioned police officers certified by the State of Kansas as established under Kansas Statutes Annotated, 76-726.
To become certified as a police officer, a Police Officer Trainee must undergo 560 hours of basic training at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson, Kansas. Following graduation, they must complete 240 hours of in-house training before moving on to patrol. In patrol, the Police Officer Trainee must satisfactorily complete 400 hours of ride-along training with a Field Training Officer (FTO). Only then will the new Police Officer become available for general police assignments.
Continuous Training
The Community Engagement Section is responsible for the continuing education of veteran officers and the training of new officers. All police officers must attend a state-certified law enforcement academy and an in-house training program before being assigned to patrol activities.
Every law enforcement officer in the state of Kansas is also required to attend 40 hours of continuing education to maintain his/her certification. This includes mandatory training in topics such as firearms qualification, domestic violence, and first aid. Additionally officers attend numerous training classes that are set up by the Community Services section throughout the year. As each officer acquires training, those hours are submitted to the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center to be recorded in the officer's training file.
Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center
A unit of the University of Kansas Lifelong & Professional Education, the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) serves as the central law enforcement training facility and headquarters for all law enforcement training in Kansas.
The KLETC is located at the former naval air station, which is situated south of the City of Hutchinson and west of the City of Yoder in Reno County, Kansas.
Mission: “The promotion and development of improved law enforcement personnel and procedures throughout the state, and the training center shall offer to qualified applicants such programs and courses of instruction designed to fulfill this end.”