Law Enforcement Academy

The OJC Law Academy is not the only academy in Colorado that offers instruction above the POST curriculum requirements. However, OJC is the only academy that focuses on training students from rural areas who want to continue living in small towns or rural area and working as a peace officer. OJC’s focus is on the broader training needed to serve small and rural agencies, however OJC graduates are equally prepared to work the narrower and more job specific requirements of larger agencies.

 

Additional Course Information

OJC Law Academy classes are taught by forty career law enforcement professionals with 400 plus years of combined law enforcement and training experience. The OJC instructors represent or have retired from fifteen different state and local criminal justice agencies, plus one federal agency. All OJC instructors are certified in their instruction area; all regularly refresh their training and all have actually applied and practiced what they teach on the street. Students benefit because they have direct contact with and have the opportunity to learn from proven experts. This “apprenticeship” type training provides students with the freshest, strongest and most up-to-date training available from a wide range of instructor experiences.

Law enforcement training academy applicants cannot have any felony convictions, domestic violence convictions, child support violations of the Child Support Enforcement Act or military separation with any less than honorable conditions. Applicants with any section 24-31-305, Colorado Revised Statute convictions must have a Colorado POST Rule 7 Variance prior to submission. Applicants must submit a completed OJC Data Sheet academy application, proof of completing two college level English Composition semesters or an equivalent writing ability and two law enforcement letters of recommendation prior to a successful academy pre-admission interview.

The OJC Law Enforcement Training Academy is a one-semester long, 16 week, 40 semester hour certification program with classes beginning in August and January. Classes are held daily from 7:45 A.M. until 5:30 P.M., with ten evening training classes. This is an intensive course targeted to persons focused on long term law enforcement careers. Pre-testing, background checks and admission procedures usually take at least three weeks to complete prior to the first day of class.

Police and detectives pursue and apprehend individuals who break the law and then issue citations or give warnings. A large proportion of their time is spent writing reports and maintaining records of incidents they encounter. Most police officers patrol their jurisdictions and investigate any suspicious activity they notice. They also respond to calls from individuals. Detectives, who often are called agents or special agents, perform investigative duties such as gathering facts and collecting evidence. People often believe they want to spend the rest of their lives being a cop but change their minds when they realize that a cop spends long hours writing reports and has no private life. This is the appropriate place to decide if you have the “cop chromosome” and actually want to spend the rest of your life serving the public.