I'd say yes. The Border Patrol academy has already changed some things to increase the usefulness of training. More needs to be done though. Most of what I learned at the academy has been useless to me. PT and officer safety training were the most useful (about 99%). The laws and even the way we trained in the Spanish language I found were not useful in the field. I've learned a different way of speaking Spanish, I only use 25% of the laws taught to me, and the other 75% of the laws I learned during my FTU days. Sad to say, but it's definitely time for a revamp.

I'd have to say that what I learned in the Academy is only about 10% or what I use. To even get close to everything you need to know, the Police Acdemy would have to be like Law school or one of the Service Academys. Even then there would still be a gap between what is being taught and what it's like on the street. This is one of the only jobs that I know of that in order to maintain your license you have to continue to your education until you leave the profession.

Many academies do the best they can, and even the instructors will tell you that most of your practical knowledge comes from time on the street. The problem is, the academy is, and always will be a controlled environment, unable to replicate the millions upon millions of variables an officer will encounter while working his/her beat. The system does, however, build a basic knowledge base, and most attempt to show you basic tricks of the trade to keep yourself alive once out there in the real world.

As an instructor once told me: "We're only here to help you get dying out of your system, because once you're out there, you're playing for keeps".

Most states have a governing authority that outlines the basic law enforcement training required for that state. Some agency's academies don't go what is required required for certification and others go above and beyond. What I was told when I was a recruit 21 years ago is in the academy you're going to learn the basics of how you're SUPPOSED to do the job, after you graduate, work with the dinosaur,s keep your mouth shut, watch, listen and learn how the job is actually done.