The origins of formal police instruction within the Atlanta Police Department were created by Chief Jenkins in July of 1947. Chief Jenkins modeled the Atlanta Police Training Academy (APTA) after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) training course. The first curriculum for the police training academy was called the “General Police and Law Enforcement Training program.”

APTA moved to the campus of Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC) in August 2021 after previously being at its old location of 180 Southside Industrial Pkwy for 29 years. The previous location was a former Atlanta Public School that was built in the 1950s.

The Atlanta Police Training Academy is made up of the following units:

Firing Range

Encompasses the firearms training of sworn staff and maintains the departmental inventory of weapons and ammo.

Professional Development Unit

Encompasses the in-service, critical incident training, media, and specialized training programs.

Recruit Unit

Encompasses the recruit training curriculum to include Class Zero, Recruit, and Field Training.

Training Compliance Unit

Encompasses the lesson plan curriculum and proper storage/records management system. Additionally, is responsible for all civilian training.

APTA is responsible for facilitating thirty-five weeks of basic recruit training, specialized, and professional development training. In addition, APTA facilities training for the Tactical Field Operator (TFO) program, the Mobile Field Force (MFF), firearms training, and annual training for all Atlanta Police Department personnel.

In addition, APTA facilitates training in the area of de-escalation and procedural justice which is aligned with the “The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.” Examples of this training center around Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), Fair and Impartial Policing Training, and visits to the Center for Civil and Human Rights.  

APTA also offers a myriad of expanded training opportunities not limited to LGBTQ community relations, Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, reality-based simulator training.