Application Process

A place is waiting for you in our next Academy class! Contact us now and begin the process that will reward you with an interesting and exciting career as a law enforcement officer.

Entrance Requirements

Entrance Procedures

• Complete the application for admission to WNMU. (Apply online)
• Complete the Police Academy’s application below and apply for admission.

Pre-Academy Fitness and Testing

CJUS 1268 Pre-Academy Fitness and Testing

Course Requirements and FEES

Entrance Testing

CJUS-1268 is required for admission to the police academy (agency-sponsored are not required to attend CJUS-1268, but must make arrangements for the fitness testing at the police academy).

In addition to the 3-credit hours tuition, you will see a course fee of $1200, this is for all the testing listed below.

Physical Testing Battery:

Sit-ups, Push-ups, 1.5-mile run, 300-meter sprint.

There is no charge for this testing. This must be successfully passed during CJUS 103.

Psychological Exam

Approximately $365.22. Requires 4-5 hours written tests and 1-hour interview with a psychologist that will take place at the police academy.

Medical Exam

Approximately $500.00 is done at a local medical facility in Silver City.

Drug Screen and Audio Exam

Approximately $250.00 is done at a local testing facility in Silver City.

Criminal History check

Approximately $8.30 is done on-line by the police academy.

Upon completing CJUS-1268 and being accepted into the academy you will be registered for CJUS-1270 (14 credit hours) and PHSC 172/174 (4-credit hours). Later in the spring, you will be registered for the summer course CJUS-1280 (10 credit hours) to finish the police academy.

How to apply?

To enroll in our Academy, you must meet all requirements for University admission. Additionally, you must be able to prove your eligibility to meet state certification qualifications before being accepted to our Academy (or any other New Mexico Academy). This means you will have to pass a fitness test, medical/physical examination, a psychological examination, and allow us to complete a background investigation. The examinations are at your expense and MUST be done according to state standards.

There is a substantial amount of information you must gather and submit prior to Academy admission. Applications may be submitted at any time prior to the start of the fall semester. Upon completion of the application process, we submit it to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy/NMDPS for final approval.

You will need to complete an affidavit of birth using your birth certificate (available from your birth state’s Vital Records Bureau), a notarized copy of your high school diploma or GED certificate, a notarized copy of your form DD-214 (military veterans only), an affidavit showing proof of your current driver’s license, and for naturalized citizens, proof of citizenship using an affidavit based on your naturalization papers.

You must sequentially pass each stage of the testing process beginning with meeting the physical fitness standards. (Fitness  test must be passed before you are scheduled for the psychological test; psychological test must be passed before you are scheduled for the Medical/Physical Exam, etc.) You can schedule a date for physical fitness testing at any time by contacting the academy director. Remember, you cannot attend the Academy if you do not meet these state entrance standards. If any testing area is failed you are still responsible for the costs of the testing process you have completed.

Need assistance? Want to schedule a Fitness Test? Contact:

Gil Najar, Director

Phelps Dodge 238
575-538-6288 academy
575-519-2789 cell
najarg@wnmu.edu

Out of State Applicants

A Message to Out of State Applicants

We receive many inquiries from individuals from states other than New Mexico who are interested in becoming police officers. Our Academy will work for some, but for the vast majority of out of state individuals, it probably is not the best choice for becoming a police officer in another state, unless you plan on working for a New Mexico law enforcement agency first.

Our Academy is located in New Mexico. We are a state approved regional academy and our curriculum is established by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board (equivalent to a state P.O.S.T.) and meets the requirements for police officer certification in the State of New Mexico. Other states may accept our training for their certification. The only way to know if your state will accept our training is to find out from the entity in your state that establishes police officer standards of training (P.O.S.T.). It is usually a state government level agency.

There are many different processes in use to provide police officers basic training. Even within a particular state, there may be more than one way to obtain your police officer certification. Contact the agency for which you are interested in working for and ask about the hiring process and how basic training and certification is done and whether they accept lateral out-of-state applicants.

The process for basic training and certification may include one of the following:

1. The law enforcement agency may have their own police academy. Many of the larger agencies run their own academies. These agencies often hire applicants with no previous law enforcement training. As their first assignment, the applicant is sent to the academy. They are getting paid to be there.
2. The law enforcement agency may send the applicant to an academy that is run either by the state or some other regional authority. This situation is similar to the one above, only the academy is not part of the agency. The applicant is being paid to attend the academy as part of the job assignment.
3. The individual may elect to attend an academy as a “self-sponsored” candidate. These types of academies are often run by colleges and universities, but also may be run by a state or local governmental entity. This system may be required by the state before the candidate can become employed, or the candidate may elect to do this as a means of becoming more employable by having the academy training before applying for a job. The individual is paying tuition or other fees to attend and is usually not being paid by an agency to be there.

After contacting your local law enforcement agencies, if you feel that we can be of service to you please contact us.