Police academy programs are often seen as an important part of training new officers in order to ensure that they have the necessary skills and knowledge needed for their job. While these academies certainly provide a great deal of useful information, there are unfortunately also some limitations associated with them which should be considered. For example, many academies lack comprehensive curriculums which can lead to officers having gaps in their education (Geller et al., 2016 ). Additionally, due to the fact that police academies tend to focus on technical aspects such as firearms or use-of-force tactics they may overlook other important topics like community relations or mental health (Reisig et al., 2019).

Moreover, academies often offer little in terms of meaningful feedback during training. This includes things like personalized coaching or constructive criticism which can be extremely beneficial for helping individuals grow and develop professionally. Without this type of guidance though, it can be difficult for recruits to truly understand what is expected from them once out on patrol. Similarly, simulated scenarios do not always translate into actual field conditions meaning that officers may not know how best respond when faced with real life situations (Geller et al., 2016).