A total of 13 recruits are part of the 78th Springfield Police Academy.
The police department says the class includes ten men and three women from across the country, including Alaska, North Dakota, Florida and throughout the Midwest.
Recruiters have a variety of work and education experience, including military, security, corrections, medical and finance.
The recruits will spend the next six months completing more than 1,000 hours of intense law enforcement training.
When the recruits graduate from the academy, they will work with an experienced field-training officer for about 16 weeks of on-the-job training, then be assigned to the Uniform Operations Bureau.
