By Lindsay Doty
In a room full of men and women who proudly wear a badge, the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy welcomed 141 new police officers into the force at a ceremony held at Plainfield High School. They will complete 15 weeks of rigorous training at the academy.
Officers must be hired by a police department to attend basic training and must complete it within one year from the date they are sworn in and become a paid police officer.
“Congratulations to all of you! It is a rewarding career with the honor and privilege of serving your community. Stay safe brothers and sisters,” writes Amy Burgland on Facebook.
At the same ceremony, the academy celebrated 50 years of serving Indiana, honoring some of its very first officers from the 1969 charter class.
“In 1969, the legislation said all police officers have to go through formal training in Indiana. And in my mind that’s the frit time we started pairing the word ‘professional” with a police officer,” ILEA Executive Director Timothy M. Horty said. “I think it was a turning point in law enforcement, in general, to say they had gone through formal training.”
He hopes more community outreach will let future officers in Hendricks County know about their facility is located in their backyard.
“We want to get the word out that we are here and very active,” Horty added.
Since that first class, nearly 27,000 police officers have gone through basic training at the academy. A handful of 1969 graduates attended the ceremony to honor both old and new generations.
While so much has changed in the world since that first class of officers, ILEA veterans say some things never change.
“The professionalism, the responsibility and dignity that we still expect from officers hasn’t changed,” Horty said. “To be first responders and run into problems where others run away. That basic culture in 50 years hasn’t changed.”
Indiana Law Enforcement Academy
5402 Sugar Grove Road
Plainfield
317-839-5191
For more information on ILEA, visit in.gov/ilea
