At the September 13, 2022, meeting of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, the board took unanimous action to approve funding for an intergovernmental agreement to train and certify recruits as peace officers through the Arizona Peace Officers Standards Training (POST) at the newly-created High Country Training Academy in Flagstaff.
Historically Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Flagstaff Police Department, and other regional jurisdictions have had to send peace officer recruits to training academies in Yuma, Tucson, and others across the state. Along with limited availability for new recruits and associated travel costs, training schedules at statewide academies do not always conform to the hiring needs of our local agencies.
“It’s a very important endeavor for us to have a police academy in the Flagstaff area,” commented Chief Deputy Bret Axlund, “The Sheriff’s Office and CCC have partnered to operate a Detention Officer’s training academy at the school since 2005 which has accommodated hundreds of recruits, so this new training opportunity will build on an already proven partnership.”