FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Dozens of new recruits walked into the Fort Wayne Police Academy Monday morning for the first day of the department’s 70th training class, a milestone that comes as the city continues aggressive efforts to grow its force and keep neighborhoods safe.
Chief PJ Smith, who stood in their same spot 43 years ago, welcomed the group with a smile and a warning.
“I remember thinking after day one, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Smith told them. “It was the hardest thing I ever did. But when you finish, you’ll look back and say, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’”
That mix of fear and pride is exactly what the department wants these recruits to feel.
Why the 70th Class Matters More Than Ever
Fort Wayne is not immune to the nationwide struggle to hire and keep officers. The department is authorized for 460 sworn officers but currently has about 430, according to city budget documents and recent public statements from city leaders.
Every recruit who makes it through the 22-week academy helps close that gap.
The 70th class is one of the larger ones in recent years. While exact numbers for this session have not been released, department spokespeople confirm “dozens” started training, matching or exceeding recent classes that ranged from 25 to 35 recruits.
The city has thrown everything it can at recruitment: higher starting pay (now $68,000 after the 2025 raise), take-home cars, signing bonuses up to $10,000 for lateral hires, and heavy social media campaigns showing real officers in the community.
Those efforts appear to be working. Applications jumped nearly 40 percent in 2024 compared to 2022, according to FWPD human resources data shared with city council last fall.
What the Next 22 Weeks Look Like
The academy is intense by design.
Recruits face 40-hour weeks of classroom work, physical training, firearms qualification, defensive tactics, de-escalation drills, and real-world scenario training at the Allen County Public Safety Academy on Purdue Fort Wayne’s north campus.
They run miles in full gear. They practice high-speed driving on closed courses. They learn Indiana law line by line.
And every day starts with a uniform inspection and a loud “Yes, sir” or “Yes, ma’am.”
Chief Smith said the goal is simple: break bad habits early and build muscle memory that works under stress.
“We don’t want perfect people,” he said. “We want people who can stay calm when someone is screaming in their face or pointing a gun at them.”
A Changing Face of Fort Wayne Policing
Look around the new class and you’ll see more women and more people of color than you would have seen 20 or 30 years ago.
The department says roughly 20 percent of this academy class are women, well above the national average of about 12 percent for large city departments. Hispanic and Black recruits also make up a larger share than in past decades.
Captain Kevin Hunter, who helps run recruitment, said younger candidates today want to know the department actually reflects the city it serves.
“They ask us straight up in interviews: ‘What are you doing about diversity?’” Hunter said. “We show them the numbers, and we show them the officers who look like them already wearing the badge.”
From First Day Jitters to Swearing-In Day
By late July, if everything goes according to plan, these same recruits will stand in dress uniforms at the Clyde Theatre or the Embassy and take the oath in front of their families.
Some will hit the streets in southeast Fort Wayne. Others will patrol downtown or the north side. A few will eventually join specialized units like SWAT, K9, or the gang and violent crime unit.
All of them will carry the weight of that 70th class patch on their shoulder, a quiet reminder that they are now part of something that started back in the 1950s and has protected this city for seven decades.
Chief Smith told the recruits Monday that the citizens of Fort Wayne are counting on them.
“You’re not just joining a department,” he said. “You’re joining a family that will have your back for the rest of your life.”
For these new faces in blue, the hardest and proudest journey of their lives just started.
What do you think about the men and women stepping up to serve Fort Wayne? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and if you’re proud of our new officers, share this story with #FWPD70 on social media.
