WESTCHESTER : First Class of Recruits Enters New LAPD Academy
Los Angeles police officials on Monday welcomed the first class of recruits who will undergo training at the city’s new academy in Westchester.
With the cadets’ arrival, the Los Angeles Police Department also is increasing the size of its training classes to 90 recruits, up from 60. The newest class will graduate in August.
Previously, recruits underwent training at the Police Academy in Elysian Park, near Dodger Stadium. But the LAPD has outgrown the campus, which has remained largely unchanged since the 1930s, officials said.
The Recruit Training Center is housed in a four-story building on Manchester Boulevard, where electronics giant Hewlett-Packard’s regional training facility was once based.
The department actually began using the center for refresher training, but police officials plan to return those functions to the Elysian Park campus.
The Hewlett-Packard building also will house one of the city’s two radio dispatch centers, which are expected to become fully operational within two years. The other dispatch center will be in the west San Fernando Valley.
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