New Officer Training
We believe that having an excellent police force requires excellent training.
Newly hired officers will receive at least 35 weeks of training prior to working the street on their own.
We consider the police academy, in-house training and the field training program to be an extension of the hiring process. During these weeks of training, you will be evaluated for performance and given the opportunity to learn our culture and the Lenexa way of policing.
All new Lenexa officers will also attend in-house training. This training occurs upon graduation from the police academy, or for certified officers it will begin immediately or upon completion of reciprocity training. In-house training usually lasts five to six weeks, depending on the number of recruits who attend.
Topics covered during this phase of training include firearms (including handgun, rifle and advanced firearms), defensive tactics (control tactics, handcuffing and weapon retention), orientation to specialized units and other divisions such as K-9, Traffic Safety Unit, Warrants, Dispatch and Investigations.
In-house training ends with one to two days of scenario training, where you have the opportunity to put all of your previous training to the test during simulated traffic stops and calls for service involving role players. Recruits who have completed in-house training and the scenarios often say it is some of the best and most realistic police training they have ever received.
Police academy
Newly hired Lenexa Police Officers without prior law enforcement experience will attend the Johnson County Regional Police Academy while employed by the City of Lenexa. Located on the campus of the Johnson County Community College, the academy is staffed by full-time instructors from different police agencies in Johnson County and various adjunct instructors.
The police academy is 14 weeks long and is Monday through Friday. The hours of operation are generally 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. You do not live on campus and commute daily. The topics of training include law, defensive tactics, interview and interrogation, firearms, emergency vehicle operation, physical conditioning, practical application testing and others. Upon graduation from the academy, you will be a certified Kansas law enforcement officer.
Certified officers from out of state are eligible to attend a shortened reciprocity academy that includes law, firearms and other topics. This training generally lasts one to two weeks.
Field training program
We believe in producing officers who are assertive and intelligent in the police work they conduct. The mission of the Field Training Officer Program is to provide future police officers in this department with the instruction and experience needed to develop those characteristics.
The demands placed on police officers in today’s society require them to acquire and maintain a vast amount of knowledge in a short amount of time. To be effective and safe, you must learn quickly and be able to relate your knowledge to field situations. Our program, which is 15 weeks long, satisfies these demands by integrating the learning process which begins at the academy and with our in-house training. It is an approach to training that is based on a system of formal, standardized and structured teaching and evaluation.
We believe in using adult learning techniques which include, but are not limited to, hands-on and failing it forward. The result will be a probationary officer who has been thoroughly trained and who is ready to meet the challenges of being a Lenexa Police Officer.