Atlanta Police Academy Graduation Strengthens Force

will host the graduation of Class #222 to be held in the City Hall Atrium on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. The newest class puts the APD closer to its goal of having 2,000 sworn officers by end of 2013.

The graduation ceremony concluded 21 weeks of rigorous training at the Atlanta Police Academy, along with 12 weeks of field training with veteran officers. The training includes classroom courses in constitutional law, Atlanta Police Department policy and procedure, hands-on defensive tactics, arrest techniques and daily physical fitness.

Class 222 consists of 31 men and women.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony is J. Michael Robison, Chairman and CEO of Lanier Parking.

Also graduating on Wednesday will be 19 members of Class 18 of the Citizens Police Academy.The Citizens Police Academy provides a hands-on opportunity to educate the citizens of Atlantaon the operations of the Department while obtaining valuable feedback from citizens to enhancepolice and community relations.

Graduates completed over 30 hours of instruction taught in three-hour sessions over severalweeks. The training included classroom courses in crime scenes, a department overview and azone ride-a-long.

The department continues to hire in its goal to have a sworn force of 2,000 officers by the endof 2013. This year, the APD has hired 126 officers to date, bringing its sworn force to 1,915.Anyone interested in applying should visit www.joinatlantapd.org.

A full-service police agency, the Department has adopted a community-oriented policingphilosophy and relies heavily upon community input and collaborative problem-solvingstrategies. It is through heightened community involvement in public safety matters that the Atlanta Police Department will most effectively address its many priorities, including, but notlimited to youth-related crime, domestic violence and the perception of crime in Atlanta.

With an authorized strength of more than 1,959 sworn officers, the Atlanta Police Department isthe largest law enforcement agency in the State of Georgia, and a dedicated, high-profile forcefor positive change in our communities.