70 participants graduate Bryan PD Academy in six years, 100% success on state exam
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Hiring law enforcement officers has steadily gotten harder over the last few years according to experts. But a program at The Bryan Police Department has helped keep them nearly or fully staffed through hardships.
Currently, there are no job openings for officers in Bryan and there are over a dozen participants in a program right now ready to jump on the force within the year.
The Bryan Police Academy began six years ago, to train prospective officers and prepare them for the state licensing exam. Since starting the program, 70 participants have graduated and they had 100% success rate on the exam.
“Due to our awesome training and recruiting unit, they work extremely hard to recruit people and get them through the training process with us,” Bryan Police Officer, Seth Waller, said. “We’ve been fortunate where we’ve been able to maintain our staffing, full staffing or just under.”
But participants aren’t just going to Bryan PD. The current class has two cadets from Brenham Police and two from Bryan Fire Swat Medics. In the past, they’ve reached across the Brazos Valley to help train new or old officers.
“A majority are Bryan PD cadets in there but we are a regional academy and we are able to do this with the help and support of Brazos Valley agencies,” he said.
Graduates who pass the state exam aren’t automatically given a patrol vehicle and a role. Even though they may have knowledge about department policies and passed the state exam, they still have department field training to ensure they are ready for the department.
“There’s still a couple, about three to four months of training once they take the exam and pass that before making it on their own as a police officer here at Bryan PD,” Waller said.
The department said right now, participants of the academy are the most diverse age group they’ve seen yet.
