11 officers from this year's class were welcomed to the force at the Broken Arrow Police Academy graduation Wednesday night.
It certainly doesn't happen overnight - to have the responsibility of protecting and serving citizens requires the best training and that's what these officers received.
The recruits go through an application and interview process before getting selected for hire.
Then, the intense six-month training phase begins.
During that time, they learn laws and city ordinances, the geography of Broken Arrow and the quickest ways to get around, first aid, how to search through a building, driver training, defensive tactics, firearm training.
Tonight, 11 officers and one fire investigator are officially joining the force.
It's a department with more than 140 officers and always in need of more.
"We have people retire every year," BAPD's James Koch said. "We're trying our best to keep up with the rate of attrition. There are times when we are very short-staffed. We're hoping we will continue to hire and run back-to-back police academies."
One of those academies is getting ready to start now and the BAPD is going through the initial application and interview process.
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