CAPCOG is seeking prospective cadets to participate in its next Regional Law Enforcement Academy (RLEA) basic peace officer course (BPOC) — a part-time, night course in Hutto, Texas. CAPCOG has scheduled multiple entrance exam testing times for those wanting to become peace officers, which must be passed if a person is not being sponsored by a local policing agency.
“Our nighttime BPOCs afford people the opportunity to earn their peace officer certification and license who are unable to drop everything to take the fulltime course,” said David Bertling, CAPCOG’s RLEA director. “The ten-and-half-month program is just spread out but accomplishes the same thing — instilling the knowledge people need to be great law enforcement officers while developing the character to be amazing public servants and community leaders.”
The academy and course serve as a training program for police departments, sheriffs’ offices, constables, and other policing agencies in the ten-county CAPCOG region. This part-time BPOC has a scheduled start date of Dec. 15, 2025, and an anticipated graduation date of Sept. 30, 2026. Classes will be 6 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with an 8- to 12-hour day on Saturdays depending on the instructional topic. Recent academy cadets have graduated with more than 1,100 Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) certified training hours which include certifications beyond the basic peace officer’s license that prepare them to work in communities throughout Central Texas. Such certifications include tactical police driving, radar and LiDAR semi-automatic handgun, OC spray, standardized field sobriety testing, expandable police baton, an option patrol riffle course and more.
“There are so many communities in Central Texas hiring peace officers,” Bertling said. “We have been here since 1977 helping fulfill their need by educating officers to understand the job, know it goes beyond the badge, and become a great part of their community.”
The CAPCOG academy has maintained a 100 percent pass rate on TCOLE’s basic peace officer exam over the last decade. Sixty-six graduating cadets from its last two courses went to work for more than 20 different agencies in the region. They included numerous police and fire departments; sheriffs and constables’ offices; school districts; universities; and state agencies. Recruiters from inside and outside the region often visit the academy to discuss their agencies and have hired enrolled cadets before and after graduation. The academy also accepts veterans’ educational benefits.
