Meet the Academy. Then and now.

This grand old thing is the Victoria Police Academy. ?

It's trained more than 30,000 recruits - Police, Protective Services Officers (PSOs) and Police Custody Officers (PCOs) - for the past 50 years. ?

Before it’s purchase in 1973, the site was used for market gardening, as well as a gun emplacement for training local military units during World War I.?

In the 1920s it was earmarked for religious purposes, with construction of the original building commencing in 1954 by the Catholic Church as the Corpus Christi College and Chapel, officially opening in November 1959.?

But due to a lack of new priests, the building as it was first designed (see image below) was never completed and the seminary moved to a smaller complex in 1972.??

Victoria Police commenced its training at the current site on 1 April 1973 – shifting from the quarters at?Victoria Police Depot on St Kilda Road.?

Today, the 16-hectare site in Glen Waverley accommodates state of the art facilities and support services accessible to all recruits.

This includes?Simulated Immersive Learning training environments, auditoriums, a mock court room and police station, library, swimming pool, basketball courts, a Prayer room, Chapel and chaplaincy support, a running track, Welfare Unit and Student Services Unit, as well as a mock village, train carriage and station facilities.

The journey with Victoria Police starts at the Victoria Police Academy and it involves 31 weeks of full-time, structured training. For many recruits, the bonds they build on these grounds with squad members and mentors lasts a lifetime. ?

If you’ve been thinking about a career in policing, or simply have a general interest in what it takes to become an officer, learn more.