The Chattanooga Police Department is offering a shorter training academy for people with law enforcement experience who apply to work as officers in Chattanooga.
Applicants will spend between four and 10 weeks in the lateral academy, while traditional recruits with no prior experience spend 22 weeks in the academy, Capt. Kim Noorbergen said.
Noorbergen said the lateral academy gives the department a way to put experienced officers out in the community faster and with less expense.
"We take them and mold them into what we expect in our department," she said. "We can get good, quality officers with experience and be able to put them out on the street a lot quicker than 22 weeks."
The move is designed to attract officers working at other law enforcement agencies in the region by making the application process faster and removing repeat training.
The lateral academy will cover the same information and tactics as the traditional academy, but serves as a refresher course rather than a start-from-scratch training regimen.
After officers complete the lateral academy, they will spend between two and six weeks out in the city for field training. Traditional recruits spend 16 weeks in field training.
Police last offered a lateral academy in 2009. The deadline for officers to apply for the lateral academy is Wednesday.
Noorbergen said she'd like to see between 15 and 20 officers join the department. She expects the lateral academy to kick off in early spring.
Applicants must have worked for at least two years as Peace Officers Standards and Training certified officers in order to qualify for the lateral academy, and such officers may also be eligible for a multi-year bonus based on their law enforcement experience, records show.
The bonus ranges from $4,300 to $6,500 and will be paid over as many as four years. Officers who complete the lateral academy will start at a salary of $35,913.
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