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Houston Police Academy
The Houston Police Academy moved to its present site in 1980. It is located on seventy acres at 17000 Aldine Westfield. The complex is comprised of eight separate brick buildings totaling over 1,000,000 square feet of floor space. At this time of construction, the cost of this complex was 10.5 million dollars.
Four of the five major buildings on the complex are designed around an open courtyard and amphitheater. These four structures include the Administration, Academic, Physical Training, and Technological Center building.
The two story Academic building has seven theater style classrooms, three multi-purpose computer training classrooms, and one open style classroom. The auditorium can comfortably accommodate 150 students with a total seating capacity for the entire building at more than 650. Classrooms for instruction of both cadet and in-service training and education are located in this building. The building also houses a Resource Center which contains the department’s library books, journals, films, and tapes. The Offices for the Cadet Training Staff are located on the second floor which is responsible for coordinating and administering the department’s pre-service and cadet training programs.
The Physical Training building is utilized for practical application training in areas such as physical conditioning, defensive tactics, first responder, and physical wellness. It consists of a full size athletic court, weight training room, physical wellness examination area, physical therapy room, sauna, and male/female lockers and showers. In addition, it accommodates the staff offices for the physical/defensive tactic trainers, physical wellness personnel, building maintenance personnel, and housekeepers.
The Physical/Defensive Tactics trainers administer all pre-service, cadet, and in-service conditioning and defensive tactic programs. The Physical Wellness personnel oversee the department’s mandated Physical Wellness Program and conduct nutrition/wellness classes. The Firearms building contains a twenty four lane indoor firearms range. The fully computerized system can access up to ten pre-established programs. The targets move to and from the shooter. The Firearms Training staff is also housed in this building and is responsible for administering several training programs. They assist the Qualification Range (outside) in administering the department’s mandated annual qualification program to certified personnel. The S.W.A.T. Detail has an outdoor rifle range and shoot house which the department uses for special firearms training.
The Drivers Training staff office is located next to the driver precision and figure eight track. Most of their instruction takes place on one of the two separate driving tracks. On the precision track, the staff teaches techniques to improve skills such as speed control, positioning, backing and handling techniques. On the high-speed track, instruction is designed to improve vehicle handling under stress. The Drivers Training Staff is nationally recognized for their training techniques.
The officer Continuing Education Unit provides training to all officers working throughout the department and provides quality assurance by managing curriculum development, student and instructor evaluations, research, cadet counseling, and departmental internships.
The Houston Police Department Academy is certified by the Texas Commission on Law enforcement (TCOLE) and abides by its rules.
If you are interested in joining the Houston Police Academy as a cadet and enroll in the Basic Peace Officer Training Course please contact The Recruiting Division at www.hpdcareer.com to start your career with the Houston Police Department.
If you are interested in registering for continuing education classes, please see the Training Calendar below and call the Training Division at 832-394-2300 and ask to speak to the Outside Training Coordinator.