Prior to the creation of the formal police academy, officers were trained using various methods that were not always effective or conducive to the job required of an officer. As a result, ill-equipped officers flooded the streets of nineteenth-century America, often unable to perform the primary task of their job: protecting the public. The United States, inspired by England and other countries with better developed public safety systems, desperately needed a method to ensure the safety of its population. The creation and evolution of the police academy defined what being a police officer entailed by teaching officers what was expected of them, not only in terms of job requirements, but also morally and ethically. The Police Academy prepares an individual for the civilian, educational, managerial and day-to-day duties of police work, while ensuring moral toughness and commitment to public service. Combining classroom instruction, CSI training, building search training, firearms training, and combative/defensive training, every officer who graduates from the police academy is well prepared to handle every aspect of a police officer's job . , officers were often trained using various methods of dubious reliability. Early training in the police service, as in other professions, appeared in the form of apprenticeships (Gammage 5). A novice had to observe an experienced officer for a short time before starting independent police work; this training concept was based on the “rookie-see, rookie-do” model. An apprenticeship was considered lucky; in most departments recruits received no formal pre-service training. They were given a badge, a truncheon, and a copy of the department's rules (...... center of paper ...... Boston: Brookstone, 1968. Print. This source describes the popular curricula of the police taught in police academies throughout the United States In addition to summarizing the curricula, it also critically analyzes the methods and theories of information taught to new officers. Particularly used for information related to minimum age requirements for officers and the impact positive and negative restrictions of requiring recruits to be twenty-one. Walker, S and C Katz. The Police in America 7th: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 28-54 criminal law, and more specifically the history of policing in America and England. It was very valuable for its discussion of Sir Robert Peel and his reforms to the police.