Sworn Training

Policing is ever-changing with new technologies, case law, crime trends, and public expectations. The Fredericksburg Police Department has always been committed to providing high-quality, modern training to sworn employees in every area of policing. Officers are held to a higher standard and receive significantly more training than the required minimum set by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. This ensures the City of Fredericksburg receives exceptional service from its law enforcement agency. 

New police officers are hired approximately 2-3 weeks before the Law Enforcement Basic Academy class starts.  The first few weeks are administrative in nature as the new employees are orientated to the agency.  Various training topics covered in the “Pre-Academy Orientation” include IT Security Training, Ethics & Unbiased Policing, Peer Support, Fitness Room policies, ICS-100 (Intro to Incident Command), ICS-700 (Intro to the National Incident Management System), Terrorism-WMD Awareness, Hazardous Materials, Defensive Driving, Firearms Familiarization, and the basic administrative policies of which are required by all department personnel.

 After graduating the 20-week Academy and having been sworn-in, new officers receive another 2-3 weeks of “Post-Academy Orientation” before their Field Training begins.  New officers receive familiarization in specialty positions and receive further training in Taser certification, use of CAD and report writing, use of issued body cameras and other specialized equipment to include tourniquets, Stop Sticks, Narcan, and are Fit-Tested for proper wear of a protective mask.

 Officers are then assigned to the Patrol Division and begin Field Training.  This process of “On-the-Job” training lasts anywhere from 660 – 671 hours and is approximately 13-weeks long.  The DCJS standard for Field Training is 100 hours.  Upon successful completion, officers are released to independent patrol and are evaluated quarterly for their performance for the first year. 

 All sworn employees receive routine training as outlined in the chart below.