The Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy, located at 14601 Lee Road, Chantilly, Virginia trains approximately 230 new law enforcement officers a year. The Academy, which was established in 1985, was relocated to a new, state of the art facility in the summer of 1997. The Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy is currently the training center for all law enforcement officers from the Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County Sheriff's Office, and the town police departments of Herndon and Vienna. Animal Wardens and Fire Marshals are also trained here.
The six month basic recruit session, is a non-residential training program. Recruits commute to the facility Monday through Friday for an eight-hour day, varying between day and evening hours. The curriculum includes Virginia law, report writing, criminal and accident investigation, warrant service, crime prevention, defensive tactics, emergency vehicle operations, first aid, and firearms skills. Throughout the session, recruits must maintain at least a 75% grade point average and pass training objectives which are mandated by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. The Academy provides 919 hours of training which far exceeds state requirements. The hours translate into 28 ACE college credits which can be transferred to an Associate's Degree program in Criminal Justice at Northern Virginia Community College.
| Training |
Hours |
| Basic School |
400 hours |
| Firearms Training |
80 hours |
| Driver Training |
80 hours |
| Physical Fitness |
126 hours |
| Defensive Tactics |
113 hours |
| Radar School (police only) |
40 hours |
| Jailer School (deputies only) |
80 hours |
The hours that must be successfully completed are as follows:
The design of the Academy enables staff to train recruits in a realistic environment. For example, "practical plaza" is fashioned after a typical strip mall, and includes a bank, deli, clothing store, convenience store, pawn shop, travel agency, bar, and a townhouse. The exercises practiced in this area enable recruits to get a true sense of the situations that they might encounter on the street.
For more information on continuing education for officers, visit the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy home page.
Partner agencies include the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy
and the Prince William County Criminal Justice Academy.
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