Menlo Park welcomes new police recruits Jose Alvarez and Eric Lopez. Jose and Eric attend the basic police academy, Coyote Valley campus in San Jose, for the next six months. The basic police academy is offered by The Academy through South Bay Regional Public Safety Training. The police academy is intensive police training program, which consists of written and physical abilities tests. The California Commission on Peace Officers Standards (POST) requires police officers to receive initial foundation training and information on specific topics. This curriculum consists of 42 individual topics, called learning domains. After they graduate in February 2019, they will begin their field-training program where they will be paired with field-training officers for several months. 

Both recruits are paired with police officers who are considered their mentors and offer assistance in areas that they may need additional help or training. The police department has successfully sponsored seven current police officers through the academy in the last year.