How To Become A Police Academy Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a police academy instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Law enforcement jobs generally pay adequately, provide excellent insurance and retirement coverage. Getting compensated to serve people is rewarding itself, but even more rewarding is the chance to educate and mentor aspiring police officers and impact the next generation of law enforcement professionals. That's why working as a Police Academy Instructor is potentially one of the best positions available in the law enforcement sector.

Since the first day at the police academy, Police Academy Instructors help set the tone for the whole career of a new cop. They are responsible for educating Police Academy students. They provide training in theoretical topics such as law, individual diversity, and interpersonal relations. They also teach practical uses, including firearms, combat tactics, first aid, and vehicle operations.

Police Academy Instructors are usually current or retired law enforcement officers, and that is why qualification as a law enforcement officer is most commonly required. In addition, to be qualified to educate new recruits and other officers, special teacher certifications in different fields of training are required.

ScorePolice Academy InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,586

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.31%

Black or African American 7.06%

Hispanic or Latino 10.07%

Unknown 4.92%

White 66.36%

Gender

female 26.78%

male 73.22%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a police academy instructor

Explore police academy instructor education requirements

Most common police academy instructor degrees

Bachelor's

56.2 %

Associate

19.1 %

Master's

14.1 %

Start to develop specific police academy instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	58.00%
Children Ages	12.94%
Training Programs	3.98%
Math	3.61%
Patrol	3.42%

Complete relevant police academy instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New police academy instructors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a police academy instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real police academy instructor resumes.

Research police academy instructor duties and responsibilities

Utilize blackboard management system to encourage online discussions and manage grades.
Identify appropriate techniques for teaching and responding to literature, and ways to effectively use literacy to positively impact diversity education.
Focus on cardiology, surgical procedure, pharmacology.

Prepare your police academy instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your police academy instructor resume.

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