the 80^th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy completed its graduation ceremony in the South Atrium of the Indiana Statehouse. Opening remarks were made by Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter and the oath of office for the 36 new State Police officers was delivered by Judge Steven R. Nation of the Hamilton County Superior Court. Each new trooper was then presented their badge and official identification by Superintendent Carter.

Today’s graduation marked the culmination of 25 weeks of intense training which totaled nearly 1,200 hours. But with the reality of COVID, this journey has taken 37 weeks.  Some subject areas of training included criminal and traffic law, crash investigations, emergency vehicle operations, defensive tactics, firearms, and a host of other subjects related to modern policing.

In order to help ensure as safe an environment as possible for graduation, the recruits, staff and instructors resided and trained at the academy in a “bubble”, away from outside contact, including their families for the last two weeks.

Each graduating trooper will be assigned to one of 14 State Police Posts across Indiana. Once at their assigned district, the new troopers will spend the next three months working side by side with a series of experienced Field Training Officers. The purpose of the field training is to put to practical application the training received over the duration of the formal academy training. Upon successful completion of field training, the new troopers will be assigned a state police patrol vehicle and will begin solo patrol in their assigned district.