OPD Announces Start of New Recruit Academy

The 51 recruits comprising the Oakland Police Department’s 167th Recruit Academy began their 27-week training Monday, the department announced yesterday.

Police Chief Howard A. Jordan, joined by his command staff, addressed the recruits, welcoming them to the law enforcement family and emphasized how important the role and responsibility a police officer has in the community, the announcement said.

Meanwhile 38 new graduates from the last academy class — the first in four years — began their field training Monday. They will be assigned to beats after 20 weeks of field training. A third academy class is scheduled to begin in August.

The OPD still remains well below its strength of four years ago, when 837 officers wee on the job.

For more information on becoming an Oakland police officer, go to http://www.opdjobs.com/.

Bay City News Service contributed to this article.