Law Enforcement Training Academy

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Open Enrollment

Persons that are not affiliated with a law enforcement agency may wish to put themselves through the Academy.  To qualify for a seat in the Academy, they must complete a qualification process consisting of a background investigation, polygraph and medical examination.  (Even though you may have had these things done by another agency, AzPOST requires each agency to do their own.)  As an open enrollment cadet, you will have to pay for this process to qualify.  The price at this time is approximately $550.  The Academy uses Dark Knight Investigations to conduct the background investigation and they use a qualified law enforcement polygraph examiner and a medical facility with AzPOST certified physicians.  This qualification process takes approximately 3 months!  If you wish to put yourself through the Academy, you will need to initiate the open enrollment process by obtaining the proper forms and then contacting the background investigator.

Effective January 1, 2010 Open Enrollment applicants will be required to participate in a physical fitness assessment to determine their overall level of fitness. The physical fitness assessment will be the Cooper test (1.5 mile run; push-ups, sit-ups and vertical jump) with a minimum of 40% set as the goal for the applicants to achieve. The test will be given approximately one month prior to the start of the academy class. The score achieved by the applicant will be used along with the other information obtained in the background to determine the potential for success of the applicant. A score below 40% will not automatically disqualify the applicant but will be taken into consideration before a position in the class is offered to the applicant.

Open enrollment is desirable to many people for varied reasons.  Some of those reasons are:

People that have a good position and do not want to ‘gamble’ by being hired by an agency and being sent to a full time academy after quitting their job and then for some reason (injury, etc.) are not able to continue and then cannot return to their previous job.

People that are 20 years of age but will be 21 within 10 months.  This allows them to obtain the training needed for certification and makes them more desirable in the job market.

People that only wish to be a reserve Peace Officer.  (There is no special category in Arizona for this as those completing the training and are with an agency are certified the same as salaried officers.)

People with a bankruptcy or some other event that may impact their ability to successfully compete in the job market.  These people have an additional 10 months to put the event behind them, prove their dedication to their goal and be more valuable in the job market.

People that are interested in working for agencies that hire only certified or ‘certifiable’ individuals.  Many smaller communities require the ability to be certified by AzPOST.

If you apply, and successfully complete the qualification process, print the appropriate form for reporting directions: 

Spring (March) Class    Fall (August) Class

AzPOST Open Enrollment Policy

Open Enrollment Process | Open Enrollment Costs