Fox Valley Technical College introduced a fourth law enforcement training academy this year to meet the rising demand in local communities. The 27 recruits recently celebrated their graduation as the first class of this new session.

"We had such a demand for the academy. We had a waitlist from the agencies, so what we decided is add an extra class so we can accommodate the need,"  says Tim Hufschmid, director of the Law Enforcement Academy.

With the addition of the new academy, there will be only 21 days this year (excluding weekends and holidays) when an academy is not in session at the FVTC Public Safety Training Center.

“If we wouldn't have had this academy, our next academy, which started August 6 and finishes in October,  it would have been six more months before an agency would have somebody on the road. So, we decided to add this academy so the officers could be on the road sooner for their agencies." Hufschmid says.

The law enforcement recruit graduates are from various parts of the state, as far as Sturtevant PD, Middleton PD and Chippewa Falls PD, as well as from local agencies like Appleton PD, Oshkosh PD and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.

The fourth academy will not only help reduce the waitlist but will also benefit law enforcement agencies statewide by filling positions more quickly, addressing challenges in receiving applicants in recent years.

Fox Valley Technical College is the only school in the Wisconsin Technical College System to offer four academies throughout the year.

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Local media recently reported on the additional academy >>

WLUK-TV: Fox Valley Technical College adds extra recruit academy to ease police staffing shortages