MADISON, Wis. — Nineteen recruits were sworn in Tuesday as part of the Madison Police Department’s 64th recruitment class.
Now that they’re sworn in, the recruits will go through roughly six months of training in a variety of fields, including communications, mental health response, domestic violence investigations, firearms and emergency vehicle operations. The 6-month training program will be followed by a 4-month field training program.
“I won’t tell you to strive for excellence, because you’ve shown by the fact that you’re sitting here, that you already do,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. “But I will ask you to strive for empathy: for each other, for your colleagues, and for those you serve.”
During his remarks at the ceremony, MPD Police Chief Dr. Shon Barnes told the new recruits he learned as a young officer that community policing, and not physical force, is “the way to go.”
“Policing is working with your community to solve problems. Policing is not about relinquishing responsibility, nor is it about solely taking on all of the problems of the world,” Dr. Barnes said. “We are better together.”
Of the 19 recruits, three of them have former law enforcement experience. Many of them have educational backgrounds ranging from a Juris Doctorate to being enrolled in associates programs. The recruits range in age from 21 to 56.
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