The Watertown Police Department operates the "Black River/St. Lawrence Valley Police Academy," which is a regional NY State "Municipal Police Training Council" (MPTC) approved police academy. The Training Section is responsible for all aspects of the police academy operations, including the planning, organizing and administration of the "Basic Course for Police Officers" and annual "In-service Training." The "Basic Course for Police Officers" is a 26-week course for new police recruits. The training includes NY State laws, the NY State "First Responder's" course, physical fitness, arrest techniques, de-escalation, use of force/deadly force, emergency vehicle operation (EVOC), domestic violence, mental hygiene law, firearms, impact weapons and many other topics. The basic course is followed by 14-weeks of field training, which is the time for new recruits to put their classroom training to use on the street while being directly supervised by a "Field Training Officer." Upon successful completion of both the classroom training and the field training, a new recruit becomes certified as a police officer in NY State. Currently, the police academy operates primarily from the campus of Jefferson Community College.
In-service training is conducted annually and includes topics which are mandated in order to maintain the Watertown Police Department's NY State Accreditation. Required annual topics include legal updates, use of force, deadly use of force and firearms training. The academy also conducts annual first aid classes, less lethal weapons training (such as pepper spray, Taser and baton), de-escalation training and other training as needed on a rotating basis.
The Training Section tracks all officer training and ensures that officers are in compliance with annual range qualifications and in service training requirements for accreditation. The department manages and tracks additional specialized training provided to officers. Some specialized training is conducted locally while some training is hosted by state or federal agencies within NY State or in adjacent states.
There are additional opportunities for specialized training within the department, to include:
Recruits training in Defensive Tactics
Emergency Vehicle Operator Course Training
