This report presents statistics from the 2018 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies (CLETA), which collected from the academies information on recruits, staff, training, curricula, equipment, and facilities.
The responding academies were responsible for providing mandatory basic training to newly appointed or elected law enforcement officers. A total of 681 state and local law enforcement training academies provided basic training to 59,511 recruits in 2018. The average length of the core basic training program was 833 hours. Half of the recruits were instructed under a training model with equal parts stress (military or para-military style) and non-stress (academic or adult learning) environments. Nearly all recruits were instructed in report writing, defensive tactics, firearms skills, and ethics/integrity. Nearly all recruits were instructed under at least one type of reality-based scenario. Nearly half of full-time instructors in the training academies were sworn officers permanently assigned to or employed by the academy. One-fourth of the academies required instructors to have a 2-year college degree or higher level of education, and 70 percent required law enforcement experience. Of recruits who began basic training in 2018, about 19 percent were female and 81 percent were male. Sixty-four percent of recruits in the academies were White; 14 percent were Black; and 17 percent were Hispanic. The average length of basic training was 833 hours, and the average length of field training was 508 hours. In 2018, 82 percent of recruits were trained in identifying and responding to the use of excessive force by other officers. Nearly all recruits received reality-based scenario training in arrest control tactics, verbal tactics, use-of-force continuum or situational use of force, and self-defense. Nearly all recruits received specialty firearms training in night or reduced-light conditions and in simulated stressful conditions. 34 tables and 2 figures