Vermont Police Academy details 17-week basic training, testing updates and grooming accommodations

The Vermont Police Academy told the Senate Committee on Government Operations on Thursday that its full‑time basic class runs 17 weeks and that the Vermont Criminal Justice Council is preparing to adopt a new entrance test and expanded training on fair-and-impartial policing.

Christopher Burkell, executive director of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, told senators the current basic class is “in week 1 of their training of 17 weeks.” He said the council’s basic curriculum amounts to roughly 900 hours overall, noting that figure does not include in‑service training after recruits return to their agencies.

Ken Hawkins, director of training at the Vermont Police Academy, said the academy is moving from counting hours to demonstrating competencies and described the classroom-to-scenario structure the academy uses. “We’re trying to get more towards building officers that are able to show through both the academic, but more so from the hands on and the scenarios,” Hawkins told the committee, adding that recruits then enter agency-run field training programs after the academy.

Why it matters: The session addressed how the academy prepares officers for responsibilities the public increasingly expects them to handle — from mental health and substance‑use interactions to culturally sensitive encounters — and how the academy balances safety, uniform standards and religious or cultural accommodations.

Class size, composition and orientation Christopher Burkell said the current full‑time class began with about 35 recruits and had lost three in the first week. The academy explained that a class size of roughly 35–38 recruits is a “sweet spot” for running ranges, scenarios and classroom rotations. Academy staff said they brief recruits at an orientation held about three weeks before classes start and that agencies and recruits receive photographs and walkthroughs so “there’s no surprises.”

Curriculum hours and competencies Burkell described the overall basic curriculum as “about 900 hours,” covering communications, law, investigative procedure, physical fitness and patrol techniques. Hawkins said the academy is emphasizing competency demonstration and cited about 780 hours of academic instruction within the 17‑week basic program, plus scenario‑based practical exercises at the end of training to verify skills.

Hawkins told the committee that the academy’s approach pairs academics with hands‑on scenario work so that, when recruits return to their agencies, they enter field training already expected to have foundational competencies. He said the length and structure of subsequent agency field training varies by agency and by the recruit’s level (the Academy refers to full‑time basic as level 3 and shorter courses as level 2).

Testing and entrance standards Burkell told senators the council had previously suspended the written entrance exam after concerns about validation and disparate outcomes. He said the council reviewed a vendor presentation at a recent council meeting and expects to bring the new testing option — which includes a video component assessing critical thinking and decision making — to a council vote at the next meeting so it can be available for upcoming classes.

Fair-and-impartial policing and other training updates The committee was told that mandatory training tied to the council’s fair-and-impartial-policing policy is being updated and rolled out this year. Burkell said the updated training will include data‑collection requirements, changes to the policy itself, and instruction on differences between federal criminal and civil law. He said the council vets agency policies through legal counsel and the attorney general to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

Cultural competency, mental health and staffing Hawkins and Burkell described ongoing efforts to weave cultural humility, mental‑health crisis response and substance‑use topics into the curriculum. The academy recently hired a community inclusion director, Lisa Ryan, to help integrate those themes across courses. Hawkins said the academy brings in more than 100 outside instructors and role players to keep training current and grounded in field practice.

Grooming, head coverings and safety The committee asked whether the academy enforces grooming or hairstyle rules that could exclude some applicants. Hawkins said the academy provides uniforms and maintains a recruit manual with grooming and uniform standards but that the academy accommodates religious and cultural dress, including hijab and culturally distinctive hairstyles. He emphasized safety considerations in certain activities: on the firing range, for example, instructors ask recruits to wear a hat so that spent shell casings (brass) do not fall between eyewear and cause injury. On physical‑training mats and in use‑of‑force training, staff will discuss measures to reduce injury risks for recruits with long hair or particular hairstyles.

What the committee was told about agency uniformity Burkell said the academy sets a statewide basic training standard, and agencies must provide additional annual training, but agencies differ in pre‑basic hiring practices and post‑academy field training. He said some training needs depend on a community’s expected policing duties and resources; the council requires a minimum set of annual training hours but does not dictate every local agency’s supplemental training.

Next steps and outreach Burkell said the council expects to vote on the replacement entrance test at a future meeting and to continue rolling out the updated fair‑and‑impartial‑policing training. Academy staff invited committee members to visit the academy during a basic class to observe courses and scenario training.

Ending: The committee did not take votes on these items during the hearing; members thanked the witnesses and concluded the discussion with an invitation to inspect academy operations in person.