Ten recent graduates of the Criminal Justice Institute at the College of Central Florida are preparing to serve as police officers in Ocala.
The ten recruits will be sworn in as officers with the Ocala Police Department during a ceremony that will be held next week.
According to OPD, the recruits completed 770 hours of training that included courses on law, communications, defense tactics, firearms, and crime scene management.
On its Facebook webpage, the Ocala Police Department congratulated its future police officers by stating, “Great work, recruits!”
In November of 2021, the Ocala City Council approved over $2.1 million in funding to help increase the Ocala Police Department’s salaries in an effort to fill numerous vacancies.