RI Municipal Police Academy History In 1969, Section 42-28.2-2 of the Rhode Island General Laws established the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy and assigned it the responsibility of training and certifying all municipal police officers except the City of Providence. Additionally, the Academy was given the responsibility of training police officers from several State agencies that have law enforcement powers.

The first two basic training classes were conducted in Foster, Rhode Island under the supervision of the Rhode Island State Police in 1970. Then, in 1971, the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy (RIMPTA) moved its training operations to the Armory located on Sandy Lane in Warwick and began to train all basic police recruit classes on its own.

Over the next ten years, the Academy relocated its administrative offices and training facilities several times. After the Armory on Sandy Lane in Warwick, RIMPTA moved to the old RI School for the Deaf building on Mt. Hope Avenue in Providence during the early 1970’s. RIMPTA then moved to the University of Rhode Island in the mid 1970’s and stayed until 1980. In 1980, RIMPTA moved two different times. The first move was to an old Navy building in Davisville, North Kingstown. The second move was to a Port Authority building in Quonset, North Kingstown.

In August 1981, RIMPTA finally moved to the Community College of Rhode Island, Flanagan Campus, Lincoln, RI and has been located here. By annual contractual agreement, the Academy pays a very nominal rent to the Community College and in return derives numerous benefits. RIMPTA is provided administrative office space; an assigned classroom; storage room space; use of the gymnasium and locker rooms; use of the swimming pool facilities; use of the bookstore, cafeteria and library; ample parking facilities; periodic use of the President’s Conference Room and use of many other auditoriums and classroom for graduations and in-service training classes. Additionally, the Community College offers 10 college credits toward their Criminal Justice Degree Program for those Police Academy graduates that are interested in pursuing an Associates Degree. Being located at CCRI has proven to be most advantageous both for the Police Academy and the many police agencies we serve.

Basically, the administrative staff has consisted of four full-time employees and we also utilize eight part-time paid instructors as well as approximately 75 part-time volunteer instructors to assist with the basic police recruit training. RIMPTA has consistently graduated an average of 100 police recruits a year and the basic recruit class curriculum has been expanded from 480 hours to where it now consists of more than 625 hours of basic training. Included in this total of 625 hours of training, are more than 250 hours of police skills training – i.e. firearms training, officer survival training, special operations training, (EVOC) Emergency Vehicle Operators Course training, handcuffing, baton training, pepper spray (O.C.) training, etc.

For the most part, during the past forty years, police specialized and continuing education courses have been offered largely dependent upon the availability of classroom facilities, personnel and financial resources. This has always been a constant concern to RIMPTA, in that, the staff has always believed that offering specialized and continuing education courses for police officers is paramount to the police profession.

In November of 2008, the Academy will graduate the 109th recruit training class!