Once in the summer at the Yakima Firing Range and one in the winter at camp Murry. There are three levels to the academy. There are three different advanced class that you can attend, and they rotate at one per academy. The three curriculums with corresponding mock scenes are advanced patrol procedures, narcotics, and investigations. In APD explorers spend the entire week as if they had been hired by a police department.
Academy is run like a boot camp on a one week scale.
During the day your activities include cleaning your barracks, K.P., marching, classes, meals, drill downs, and study time. In the Basic academy you learn the basic skills of an explorer, such as directing traffic, using the radio, and report writing. A mock scene you play the role of an officer in a situation that a real officer faces regularly. These include traffic stops, building searches, field interviews, domestic violence intervention, and felony stops. You also learn how to march and do facing movements, which you practice throughout the week.