The Red Rocks Law Enforcement Academy is an intensive instructional program that satisfies the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST) certification requirements.* Colorado Law requires that candidates for peace officer and parole positions be POST certified before they work as a law enforcement officer. Our graduates have gone on to join police departments, sheriff’s offices, and state agencies.

**We currently have police academy classes twice a year, Spring and Fall. The typical hours are 8:00 am-5:00 pm, with some mandatory night classes, Monday-Friday. We do NOT have a summer or part-time police academy program at this time. 

Program Cost: For Colorado residents, tuition and fees for the academy will be approximately $9,000* (with COF applied). Included in that tuition is all your ammo for the range. Nonresident tuition, please contact the Cashier’s Office and financial aid is available for eligible students. Please contact RRCC Financial Aid directly with any further questions at 303.914.6256. In addition, each cadet/student must purchase books (approximately $300), his or her own handgun, duty belt, flashlight, handcuffs, tactical boots and other miscellaneous equipment.  Incidental costs during the academy include $150 for the POST test, $39.50 to be fingerprinted, $35 (approx.) for your certified background check, $13.00 for a CBI name check and approximately $70-80 for a CPR/First Aid class for cadets/students without current cards.   *Tuition and fees are subject to change. You will also have to purchase academy uniforms. The number of items is up to the individual, but the cost ranges from $200 to $500. Click Here for an cost estimate guide.

Please note: The Law Enforcement academy requires that all applicants are required to be 21 years old or older.
 

Message to Our Communities

At Red Rocks LEA, we understand that the service of the police should be directed from needs of the communities we serve. Since opening our doors in 1992, we strive to be an academy that focuses on community policing, implicit bias, and social justice from Day One, instead of setting up militaristic practices. Because of this we think it is important to refrain from stigmatizing language and symbols that would alienate any portion of the people who trust us with their safety. Therefore, we do not engage in language such as “blue lives matter” and we discourage the use of “thin blue line” symbols. As Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing once said, the police are the public and the public are the police”. Anything that would separate us from the people we serve, is anathema to our program.

Part of being a great peace officer is being aware of your surroundings and taking the appropriate steps to insure the safety and well-being of those in our communities. RRCC LEA is constantly paying attention and looking for ways we need to be better. We not only serve our cadets, but the communities they will one day be a part of. We are aware of the current landscape and perception of Law Enforcement in our country, and we understand that we play a huge role in the change we wish to see. Our communities deserve the best from us, and all of us at Red Rocks strive to make this happen every day.   
 

What makes us unique? 

Being attached to a community college gives us a uinque perspective within the landscape of law enforcement. Students that complete our program graduate with 39 college level credit hours, and an education focused on community policing. We strive to develop a cadet that will not only be able to pass the Colorado POST Exam, but will understand their place in the community as a protector of every citizen. 

We work intensively with many Denver area police and sheriff’s departments. The majority of our instructors are active police officers, sheriff’s deputies, district attorneys, and they have recruited our graduates in the past. We currently have graduates employed with police departments and sheriffs offices in Silverthrone, Golden, Lakewood, Arvada Boulder, Grand County, Clear Creek County, and many more across the state. 

If you are interested in applying for the Law Enforcement Academy, please click here.

You may also fill out the RRCC LEA Contact Form and we will contact you with more details as they are available.

• Look in the BLUE colored side bar for "How to apply to LEA" Individual applicants OR (once opened for application)

• Look in the BLUE colored side bar for "How to apply to LEA" Agency-Sponsored applicants (once opened for application)

If you have questions about attending the next RRCC Law Enforcement Academy, you may fill out the RRCC LEA Contact Form and we will help out as soon as we can.

Degree Program

Learn more about the Law Enforcement Academy degree & certificate offered at RRCC.

For additional information regarding the POST academy standards and curriculum, please go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/post/colorado-post-approved-basic-academies.