Oakland police team up with Merritt College with pre-academy program aiming to recruit more officers

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The City of Oakland is looking to increase the number of cops from the current 630-range to 700 sworn officers.

The current two-year budget has funding for five police academies and other recruitment efforts.

One of those is the re-launch of a law enforcement pre-academy.

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The three-month course being offered at Merritt College is designed to prepare aspiring police officers for the rigors of the actual police academy.

"We want to make sure we're getting people who are committed to the job, who will be successful in the job," said Oakland city councilmember Zach Unger.

And state data shows, these types of programs not only increase recruitment rates, but also improve graduation rates.