Celebrating the 50th Basic Recruit Academy
Published on October 31, 2026
The Lawrence Kansas Police Department’s 50th Basic Recruit Academy marks a valuable milestone of teaching and training officers who will work in Lawrence, right here within the community they serve.
The 22-week program just finished its 10th week with this landmark class of seven recruits, and training officers have already seen impressive cohesion. “This group transitioned into a team very early on,” says Training Officer Andrew Morgan. “Their work ethic and engagement have set a strong foundation for the remainder of the academy.”
Reaching a 50th academy represents a long history of training officers locally. While the LKPD Academy must meet, and often exceeds, state-mandated curriculum requirements, the department can tailor additional training to directly meet the community’s needs. “The LKPD has high expectations for our officers,” says Morgan. “By having our academy here, we are able to instill these expectations early on in their law enforcement training.”
As research and industry standards evolve, the local Basic Recruit Academy also provides flexibility. Historically, recruit training mirrored traditional schooling with long lectures, memorization, and a lot of classwork and written testing.
Over the years, research has shown that focusing more on experiential learning through drills and scenarios leads to better retention and understanding. “Don't get me wrong, we still have classroom work they have to complete, but more work is now more hands on to help them apply the knowledge as they learn it,” says Morgan.
Today, the department combines classroom instruction on Kansas statutes, constitutional law, search and seizure rules, and report writing with active drills and scenarios.
The training staff describes the learning, thus far, as a heavy “academic grind” before transitioning to more scenario-based training. “I think they are looking forward to this next chapter and are eager to show that their work in the classroom has paid off,” says Morgan.
Watching recruits transform is rewarding for the instructors as well. Morgan says, “Knowing that the habits, ethics, and mindset we instill in them throughout this academy will protect both them and our community for the next 20 to 30 years makes it one of the most rewarding assignments in the department.”
The 50th Basic Recruit Academy is set to graduate in January of 2027 and will begin their mandatory field training assignment. In the meantime, the application process to become a part of the 51st LKPD Basic Recruit Academy opens toward the end of November.
For more information, visit www.JoinLawrencePD.org