After more than six months of training, a dozen new officers officially graduated as the 56th class at the Navajo Police Training Academy late last month.
The Navajo Nation is made up of seven police response districts. With the addition of the newest graduates to the force, most police response districts would be getting two new officers.
"Our chief is pushing all of us, every officer, every recruiter in our department," Navajo Police Captain Emmett Yazzie told KOB. "He's made it a standing as far as he wants to grow our department up to 500 police officers."
The 12 new officers first had to complete 25 weeks of training before they took the oath to protect the Navajo Nation, KOB reported.
According to KOB, the Navajo Nation police force is understaffed with only about 200 officers currently on the job. Since there are so few officers that cover a large area of land, police response times can take longer.
The Navajo Nation Police hope that by seeing the success of the newest academy graduates, more people will want to join the force, according to KOB. The department will continue its recruitment efforts with events scheduled throughout October.
