Menlo Park welcomes its newest police recruits, James Walbridge and Alicia Fajardo. Both are residents of the surrounding area and have military backgrounds serving in the United States Marine Corps. They will start the College of San Mateo police academy Monday, Sept. 19, which consists of six months of intensive police training including written and physical abilities tests. Following their police academy graduation, they will be promoted to the rank of full-time police officer with the City of Menlo Park.

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. The 888 hours of training that the recruits receive include leadership, professionalism, ethics, criminal law, laws of arrest, report writing, emergency preparedness, etc. The hands-on experience includes weapons training, role-play scenarios, patrol procedures, emergency vehicle operations and arrest and control techniques.