Police academy planned for Kroc complex

Agreement between YPD, YCSO and AWC on agenda Wednesday

The Yuma City Council is renovating portions of the Ray Kroc Complex located at 1280 W. Desert Sun Drive to house a proposed Arizona Western College Law Enforcement Training Academy.

The council discussed the agreement with AWC during a Tuesday work session, with the item up for possible approval during the Wednesday regular meeting.

The full-time, state-certified academy is a collaborative effort between the Yuma Police Department, Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and AWC and would serve the state’s southwest region. All three entities are contributing funds to upgrade and outfit the complex clubhouse to meet the standards of a statecertified academy. Yuma is chipping in $45,000, and Yuma County is contributing $20,000. AWC will pick up the $90,000 tab for the purchase of equipment.

Capt. Rod Hamilton said that 10 rooms will be used for the academy. Upgrades include new carpeting and paint and making the facility ADA-compliant, in particular the bathrooms and locker rooms. Some areas are being converted into classrooms, breakout rooms and office space for the recruit training officers.

The Police Department is coordinating with the Parks and Recreation Department and Yuma Civic Center staff to ensure that large events and the academy do not interfere with each other’s use of the facility, Hamilton said.

He noted that the agencies have been working on this project and looking for

an academy site for 2 years. The goal is to start the first class on March 25. The Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board has to certify the facility, which is expected to occur in the next two weeks.

The academy will accommodate up to 24 students per class with two classes per year if there is enough interest. Once certified, the academy will be able to serve the local and regional needs for certifying newly appointed peace officers.

Hamilton said that having a local academy will save agencies a significant amount of money. Currently, local agencies send cadets to academies several hours out of town and have to pay for their lodging, food, gasoline and other travel expenses for 20 to 22 weeks.

Hamilton pointed out that YPD hires new officers almost all year long and Yuma pays about $15,000 to house two cadets per academy and about $34,000 per year, not including per diem expenses, to send cadets to out-of-town academies.

“We believe we’ll see great savings for the City of Yuma,” he said.

Other benefits include reducing the reliance on out-of-region academies, increasing potential local recruitment pools through exposure and affiliation, actively supplement statewide law enforcement

training efforts and provide support for local agencies, a staff report noted.

This academy will not

only benefit YPD but also the county and state, Hamilton said. Deputy Mayor Gary Knight noted that it will take only “one class and we’ll more than get back what it cost to upgrade the facility.” Compared to paying the cost of housing, the price is “extremely low,” Hamilton said. Mayor Doug Nicholls asked whether local cadets will have priority over outof-town recruits. Hamilton explained that those decisions have not been made and that a local steering board or committee will help make those decisions. However, he added, he suspects that local recruits would have priority. He also “re-emphasized” that this facility would not be trying to compete with other state academies but rather would “complement” the other facilities.

“I’m very excited about

this academy. I think this will be super successful,” Councilwoman Leslie McClendon said. “This is great,” Nicholls said, adding that the academy is indicative of the collaboration typical of Yumans. He called it a “unique solution” for training incoming law enforcement officers and offered “kudos to everyone who made it happen,” including AWC and the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.