Upgrading and Improving the County Police Training Facility

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Police work is often strenuous and challenging and physical fitness is a major component of training and has evolved to more than basic exercise, requiring a full-level approach. As a tourism-based county with 10 out of 16 municipalities beach resorts, and more than 10.2 million visitors annually, it had become apparent there was a need to expand physical fitness training for local police recruits and veteran officers to meet the rigors of working in heavily populated resort towns that attracted a diverse visitor demographic.The County had updated all other levels of training at the academy but felt there was room for improvement in the physical fitness training, including health, and wellness to meet the conditions of the job. The goal was to exceed requirements for basic training and prepare officers for the physical endurance needed in the beach environment. With resort towns that more than doubled their staffing levels in the summer, it was imperative that the training hours be completed before July 4 holiday and this included the advanced PT training. To meet the goals, the training center needed to be replaced to accommodate larger class sizes, updated equipment, and safety protocols during COVID. Acknowledging the need to better train officers and the need to expand the facility, in 2018 the Board of Commissioners approved the development of a new 10,000 sq. ft physical training center to address the needs of the expanded program and allow for increased class sizes without the need to conduct split sessions.