The Louisville Police Department is now recruiting
Police Cadets! The Louisville Police Department will send successful candidates to Police Academy in early 2027!
This is a great opportunity to become part of a city recognized as one of the Best Places to Live by Money Magazine for several years. Many things contribute to this exemplary quality of life and positive economic condition, including open space with over 32 miles of trails, dozens of great eateries, great schools and wonderful neighborhoods.
Quality of Professional Life
Every community has law enforcement services, but not every community loves their police the way the citizens in Louisville do. It’s no secret that Louisville is consistently rated as one of the top places in the country to live, but many don’t know it is also one of the top places to be a police officer. As a Louisville police cadet (and police officer), you will experience a quality of professional life you will not find anywhere else.
Pace of policing matters. If you want to go from call to call with no lunch break, no training, and mandatory overtime, Louisville is not the place for you. Our officers work hard, but the workload is very manageable. Our officers have the ability to make a positive difference in peoples’ lives and contribute to our excellent quality of life because they have the ability to invest time in their investigations. Louisville officers often work cases from beginning to end, and develop lasting relationships with our community members by investigating beyond the obvious and providing thorough public safety service. By doing so, our officers gain experience and professional growth seldom found in law enforcement today.
The
Police Cadet is a great opportunity for someone wanting to pursue a career in law enforcement. We are looking for non-POST (Peace Officer Standards & Training) candidates.
We will send you to a POST Academy at a date to be determined in early 2027. We utilize a number of police academies, including Arapahoe Community College, Red Rocks Community College, Front Range Community College and Aims Community College for our Police Cadets.
The academy is a full time, 5-6 days per week commitment during the 4-6-month training program. Cadets should not plan to take any time off during the academy.
As a Louisville Police Cadet, your tuition for the academy is paid for by the City of Louisville and you will receive an annual salary of
$74,568.00 and a full benefit package while attending the academy. Upon successful completion of the academy, you will move into the Police Cadet FTO program at the City of Louisville. Your annual salary will increase to $78,291.20 as a Step 2 Cadet in FTO training. Once you have successfully completed the Police Cadet FTO program, your annual salary will increase to the Police Officer Step 1, which is paid an annual salary of $82,846.40.
Once you successfully graduate from the police academy and complete the FTO program, you will work under the general supervision of a Police Sergeant or Police Corporal, perform a wide variety of police and law enforcement duties, and respond to all situations which require a public safety presence. Police Officers are expected to protect life and property, maintain public order, conduct investigations, handle traffic enforcement and code enforcement, apprehend and arrest offenders, conduct civil processes, cultivate and foster a professional working relationship with schools, business and community groups and other law enforcement agencies to foster good citizen/police relationships and pro-actively reduce crime. Police Officers must be capable of using physical force, including deadly physical force, to protect citizens and apprehend criminal suspects; provide medical services, help the mentally ill, conduct searches and make public presentations. Police Officers are held to the highest ethical code of conduct while both on-duty and off-duty. The Police Cadet and Police Officer positions involve an especially thorough preemployment background investigation screening and testing process.
The City of Louisville offers the following benefits for Police Cadets and Police Officers:
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
- Flexible Spending Accounts / Health Savings Account
- Short and Long Term Disability
- Employee Assistance Program
- Basic Life/Accidental Death & Dismemberment Tuition Assistance
- Learning & Development Opportunities
- Recreation Center Pass
- Retirement Plan 401(a) with employer match
- Paid time off including vacation, sick and 12 holidays
Please view our brochure.
All initial communication regarding your application will come via email usually from[email protected]or the recruiter. Please check your email messages frequently. Please also check your junk or spam email box during the application process, to ensure no important information is missed.