Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy

MERIDIAN FACILITIES
	First located in Pocatello, POST Academy opened in 1970. Ten years later it moved to Boise. In 1994, Idaho Dept. of Law Enforcement finished their new facility on 43 acres in Meridian. This facility houses many branches of the newly reorganized Idaho State Police, including a forensic laboratory and criminal records systems. POST occupies most of the complex with two training buildings, an emergency driving track, a dorm, and a cafeteria. Student Parking map. Click here for more information about the facilities and our usage policy.
POST map showing freeway exit, the ISP complex from an aerial view and a simple schematic of the grounds, and an insider's view of the POST / ISP Training building
CLASSROOMS & COMPUTER LABS The main training building houses two auditorium-style classrooms seating 50 to 75 students. Each classroom is equipped with audio-visual equipment, computers capable of running presentation programs, and A/V command centers controlled by a touch pad. A document camera displays documents or three dimensional objects. Slide projectors have small video cameras inside to convert slides to video, allowing instructors to zoom in on slides, change colors and intensity. Classrooms receive LETN, Law Enforcement Satellite broadcasts, and several cable television channels. Video cameras allow coordinators to monitor and record classes. Students, too ill to remain in class, can watch lectures from a lounge without infecting others. Two classrooms are constructed in standard flat configurations for various table arrangements for practical exercises. These rooms also have high quality audio-visual equipment and one has a sink for forensic training. All classrooms have banks of power and computer outlets. A complete video studio and editing room are in the training building where specialists produce award-winning traffic safety programs through a federal grant. A state-of-the-art computer lab is located in the main building with Internet access for research and e-mail communication. Special applications are installed for software training in Crash Investigations, Drug Evaluations, Patrol Reports, Employee Training Records, and other POST-specific software. Online courses are accessible from the POST computer lab or from officers' personal computers in their homes and agencies. Online courses in Computer Investigation are offered now, with remote courses in Domestic Violence and Stalking underway.
EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS RANGE The Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) occupies approximately ten acres of the complex. An excellent fleet of training cars, equipped with roll bars, radios and emergency equipment, is available for use on the mile-long road course. A large asphalt pad on one end of the driving track is used for training in vehicle skills. POST has two SkidCar frames attached to standard patrol vehicles, used to create loss-of-control situations and reduced traction at safe and manageable speeds. A section of track is designed for testing perception/ reaction time with three fully functional traffic lights. Vehicles approaching the traffic lights cross an electric eye beam starting a timer. This gives instructors the ability to automatically activate lights at a reactionary time within one-hundredths of a second. [EVOC web page]
FIREARMS TRAINING A three part state-of-the-art firearms range is located a short distance from the POST facility. This range includes classrooms, a computer controlled qualification target range, a combat range with running man and pop-up targets, and a rifle range. Students train with duty handguns and shotguns. A Firearms Training System (FATS) simulator is located at the POST Academy and students receive intensive shoot / don't shoot training. Also located at the Meridian site is a new firearms system called Range 2000. The main building houses the F.A.T.S. training room with the F.A.T.S. III, Shoot, Don't-Shoot system and the Range 2000 firearms system.
DORMITORIES A two-story dormitory, with 40 rooms, is located onsite. Accommodations are arranged for two students per room, with showers, restrooms, telephones, and desks in each room. A lounge area with pool tables, televisions and VCRs are located on each floor. Also, each dorm floor has a laundry room with washers and dryers for student use. A large cafeteria, located nearby, is staffed by full-time dietary personnel who serve three meals per day during academy training. The cafeteria also has an executive meeting room which can be used as an overflow classroom. The POST Academy conducts Basic Police, Detention, and Dispatch Academies year-round. POST now also conducts Juvenile Detention and Probation and Parole Academies. POST additionally coordinates several thousand hours of in-service training. E-mail your Dorm Manager or Visit our Dorm homepage
FULLY EQUIPPED WEIGHT ROOM Idaho POST places a strong emphasis on physical training. The main building includes a fully-equipped college-sized gymnasium, weight room, indoor training tank, and locker rooms. The facility also has a stage and floor covering which converts it into a theater for graduations and special presentations, complete with a built-in sound system. Check out the POST Physical Fitness Test Battery (PFTB) file.
MAT ROOM, GYMNASIUM, FULL-SIZED POOL (FOR WATER RESCUE TRAINING) A specially designed car, located in the training tank area, can be lowered into the ten foot area of the tank allowing officers to train to rescue occupants from submerged vehicles.A mat room with fully padded floors and walls is available for hands-on arrest techniques and defensive tactics instruction. The gym has an electronic curtain to divide it into two rooms for additional training.
CAFETERIA A large cafeteria, located nearby, is staffed by full-time dietary personnel who serve three meals per day during academy training. The cafeteria also has an executive meeting room which can be used as an overflow classroom.