The components listed below constitute the Recruit Academic Program (formerly known as Student Officer Training Program) conducted primarily by the New York City Police Academy. This intensive program consists of 26 weeks of classroom instruction and field instruction, supplemented by another 6 months in the Community Patrol Officer Program under the close supervision of experienced officers. All new recruits to the Police Department must undergo this training. Due to the integrated nature of the curriculum as it unfolds over the 26 weeks, the descriptions, which appear below, reflect the major themes that thread through the program and correspond to content areas and course titles within degree programs where credit may be awarded.

Credit recommendation: A total of 36 semester hours, distributed as noted in the following 11 content areas, grouped alphabetically (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

1. Emergency Vehicle Operation
Location: Designated field training locations throughout the City of New York.
Instruction: Topics include: legal aspects of vehicle operation; driving regulations; causes of accidents; defensive driving attitude analysis; mandatory vehicle inspection; anatomy of a crash; habit defense and stopping distances; lights and sirens; negotiating the intersection; backing the vehicle; vehicle maintenance and inspection; flare placement and accident situations; fueling vehicles; steering techniques; use of mirrors; braking turns; safe driving techniques; seat belts; road and weather conditions; expressway operations; rear anti-lock braking systems; effects of alcohol and drugs on vehicle operation.
Credit recommendation: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 1 semester hour in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

2. Field Training Program
Location: Designated field training locations throughout the City of New York.
Instruction: In addition to the didactic component of the Student Officer Training Program, recruits engage in approximately 35 hours per week of on-the-job practice. Upon graduating from the Police Academy, probationary police officers are assigned to Precinct Field Training Units. Under the direction of a field training sergeant and other ranking officers with whom the probationary officer completes foot patrols and radio motor patrol tours, they are shown the manner in which to respond to serious emergencies, crimes in progress, tactical confrontations, and crowd control. The probationary police officers are also thoroughly briefed and re-instructed on Department policies and procedures. Monthly field training evaluations are prepared by training supervisors on each student. The final evaluation (by the field training sergeant) and certification as a police officer takes place at the end of the probationary period.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as an Internship in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

3. Physical Education
Part 1: Foundations of Physical Fitness
Part 2: Defensive Tactics
Part 3: American Heart Association Basic Life Support
Instruction: Part 1: Topics include: survey of physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects of physical fitness; neuro­muscular skill and biomechanics, scientific approach toward assessing entry-level overall physical fitness, and methods of improving and maintaining physical fitness; role of physical conditioning, nutrition, and basic health habits. Part 2: Topics include: theory, skills, and practice of mixed martial arts, and ground tactics and application of these skills to combative situations including active shooter, hostage and terrorism scenarios. Defense skills necessary to protect oneself when securing an arrest and confinement are stressed, including unarmed self-defense, in addition to detection and deterrence lessons. Part 3: Topics include: land-­based water rescue: safety procedures and use of flotation devices and safety aids; principles of safety; theory and practice of first aid procedures in emergency situations (shock, wounds, heart attacks, strokes) and extrications in dangerous situations; instruction in basic skills of cardio­pulmonary resuscitation, including use of automatic external defibrillators. American Red Cross certification in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is issued.
Credit Recommendation: Part 1: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 2 semester hours in Physical Education (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation). Part 2: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 2 semester hours in Physical Education Activity Elective (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation)(10/19 revalidation). Part 3: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 1 semester hour in Physical Education (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

4. Police Crisis Intervention
Instruction: This component provides practical applications of theory and police procedure designed to assist officers in interacting effectively and humanely with crime victims, suspects, and parties to disputes, family violence, and other interpersonal crises.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation). NOTE: This component may be considered as either a didactic or practicum learning experience.

5. Police Field Problems
Instruction: The police officer’s ability to protect lives, rights, and property while responding to critical events, such as disorders and reports of violent crimes in progress is stressed. The tactics and strategies are presented, which are designed to accomplish and order maintenance tasks in manners least likely to result in bloodshed, Constitutional violations, or friction between police and citizens. Car stop protocols and procedures, and dealing with incidence of domestic violence are addressed. Role plays and debriefings are provided.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

6. Police Investigation and Reporting
Instruction: This component covers the proper selection, preparation, and use of police and other governmental reports to facilitate police crime-fighting and order maintenance tasks; computer applications in police investigations, emphasizing access to official data bases.
Credit recommendation: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation). NOTE: This component may be considered as either a didactic or practicum learning experience.

7. Policing a Democracy
Instruction: This component is an introduction to the role of the police in American society with emphasis on the legal and ethical bases of police authority and accountability. Police professionalism and responsiveness to a diverse and changing community; structure of the NYPD; and the statutory, judicial, and administrative mechanisms that define and enforce the limits of police discretion are emphasized.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

8. Policing Special Populations
Instruction: Detailed examinations of problems and issues presented by major subpopulations among the clientele of the police, and of the effects upon police officers of constant exposure to troubled people; identification and analysis of strategies and techniques useful during interactions with children and adolescents, families of missing persons, the mentally and emotionally disturbed, and other people in crisis; discussion of techniques and departmental services available to officers suffering from job or other personal stress. A one-day interactive workshop augments instruction.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

9. Procedural Law
Instruction: This component is a survey of the statutory law, judicial decisions, and administrative policies that define police authority to arrest, to use force, and to issue summonses in lieu of arrest. The steps in the judicial processes initiated when officers effect arrests are discussed.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).

10. Substantive Law
Instruction: This component provides an analysis of the theories and reasoning underlying laws that define specific criminal offenses, with detailed treatment of major crime categories encountered by police officers. Components of weapons laws, drug offenses, crimes against persons, including civil disputes, domestic violence, larceny and property offenses, including theft, fraud and offenses against public order and the public trust are discussed.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation). 

11. Terrorism Awareness and Response
Instruction: This component identifies the fundamental and underlying reasons why America and specifically New York City is a target for terrorists, framed in a discussion of the differences among various terrorist organizations and their terrorist tactics, and the ideological bases for terrorism. Additionally, the course discusses the various government agencies that are involved in fighting terrorism and the importance of front-line law enforcement in obtaining and forwarding intelligence to investigating federal, state, and local agencies. Students are briefed daily on local and global events as to their potential effect on patrolling a very diverse populace and are trained in Chemical, Ordnance, Biological, and Radiological (COBRA) first response, as well as in preserving order and delivering vital police services in the midst of a wide-scale terrorist attack. Training encompasses port awareness, nuclear, radiological, and counterterrorism.
Credit recommendation: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Police Science or Criminal Justice (10/09 revalidation) (10/14 revalidation) (10/19 revalidation).