Recruit Training Section

The mission of the Recruit Training Section is to train newly sworn uniformed and civilian members of the service to meet the needs of the New York City Police Department. The Recruit Training Section provides police recruits with training in all the areas required to perform effectively as New York City Police Officers. This training equips future police officers with neighborhood policing skills to build trust and collaborate with neighborhood residents to prevent crime-including reckless and other dangerous driving, identify and apprehend dangerous criminals, preserve the quality-of-life and provide safety and security for all New Yorkers protecting them from dangerous criminals and terrorism.

• Academic Instructor Unit
• Physical Training and Tactics Department
• Scenario-Based Training Unit
• Driver Education and Training Unit
• School Safety Training Unit
• Traffic Enforcement Training Unit

Academic Instructor Unit

During academic lessons, police recruits undergo extensive training in the enforcement of the NYS Penal Law and the Vehicle and Traffic Law in addition to the provisions of the First, Fourth, Fourteenth and Fifth Amendment protections such as the law of arrest, search & seizure, interrogation of subjects, and basic investigation of criminal activity. They also receive training in crisis intervention, responding to individuals with mental health and substance abuse problems, investigating domestic violence incidents, assisting crime victims and preserving various types of crime scenes. They receive training in all department procedures including invoicing property and preserving the chain of evidence for property analyzed at the Police Lab. They are trained in how to respond to and investigate serious vehicle collisions, building collapses, and organizing searches for missing persons e.g., elderly and children.

Police recruits also attend several academy workshops. The workshops require recruits to integrate and apply multiple skills during mock incidents guided by academy instructors. Examples include workshops for courtroom testimony, response to emotionally disturbed persons, domestic violence (including L.G.B.T.Q. victims/witnesses), and conducting investigative encounters on patrol (stop and question). They also participate in a series of decision making-interactive scenarios designed to simulate stressful incidents or assignments they may respond to on patrol. While in the academy, recruits receive their department smart phones and receive basic training in how to conduct warrant checks and other queries of individuals and locations to provide them with the most information available at incidents.

Physical Training and Tactics Department

The Physical Training and Tactics Department prepares recruits for the physical rigors of police work and tactically prepares them for the dangers they may encounter. The training includes extensive training in calisthenics, defensive tactics, straight baton, expandable baton, frisking and cuffing, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and water safety skills.

These skills are further reinforced in interactive exercises that prepare recruits to combine multiple skills in simulated police encounters. Examples of such sessions are the Car Stop Workshop, a three-day workshop conducted at Floyd Bennett Field, and Field Encounters, a workshop conducted in the main gymnasium that incorporates physical exertion with scenario-based training.

Physical and nutritional guidance are provided to recruit officers during their training by staff members who are certified as Law Enforcement Fitness Specialists from the Cooper Institute.

Job Standard Test

Recruit Officers must successfully complete all tasks that comprise the Job Standard Test (JST) within the prescribed time of three (3) minutes and thirty-two (32) seconds prior to the date of graduation.

1.5 Mile Run

Recruit Officers must successfully complete the 1.5 Mile Run within the prescribed time of fourteen (14) minutes and twenty-one (21) seconds.

Scenario-Based Training Unit

The Scenario Based Training Unit (SBTU) provides recruits with realistic training by consolidating current legal issues, updated Department procedures, and evolving tactics into one training platform. The training provides hands-on practical experience to reinforce the academic lessons and physical tactics taught in the traditional Academy courses. Communications skills are honed and de-escalation tactics are enhanced. The “Critical Decision Making” model has been adopted by the RTS and is emphasized throughout the scenario curriculum. The mock environments provide a controlled training space for optimum learning experience and have been shown to multiply the skills acquired in the traditional academic setting.

Driver Education and Training Unit

The Driver Education and Training Unit trains uniformed officers and civilians to safely operate a variety of Police Department vehicles. The Department provides 31 different courses of instruction on approximately 20 different vehicle types, resulting in operator certification or a specialized license.

School Safety Training Unit

The School Safety Training Unit provides an educational foundation for all school safety personnel, training them to be effective safety professionals. School safety personnel enhance the quality of New York City public education by maintaining a safe and secure environment in the city's public schools.

The School Safety Training Unit provides training and support for over 5,000 members of the School Safety Division including:

• Entry Level Recruit Training
• Promotional Training
• Reinstatement Training
• In-Service Training
• Command Level Training

The entry-level training entails 17 weeks of instruction at the Police Academy. Upon graduation, school safety agents are assigned to one of many New York City's public schools.

Learn more about becoming an NYPD School Safety Agent.

Traffic Enforcement Training Unit

The Traffic Enforcement Training Unit is responsible for the training of newly hired probationary traffic enforcement agents and for the in-service training of veteran traffic enforcement agents. Their mission is to provide an educational foundation for all traffic enforcement personnel in the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective agents. Through the training experience provided, traffic enforcement agents will gain the skills necessary to help in the reduction of pedestrian injuries from collisions while keeping the vehicular traffic moving throughout New York City.

This unit provides training for the Traffic Enforcement Division in the following areas:

• Entry Level Recruit Training
• Reinstatement Training
• In-Service Training

The entry-level training entails 12-14 weeks of classroom and field instruction. Upon graduation, traffic enforcement agents are assigned to one of many commands throughout the five boroughs.

Learn more about becoming an NYPD Traffic Enforcement Agent.