Setting itself apart among institutions in southwest Ohio and statewide, Great Oaks Police Academy (GOPA) has received designation by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as an approved STAR Training Center for law enforcement. 

The STAR Training Center designation, announced by Attorney General David Yost in 2021, is designed to create a professional standard and incentive for excellence among Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) Approved Basic Academies. Academies voluntarily seeking the STAR designation demonstrate their belief that a standard of excellence is essential in producing top cadets to the law enforcement agencies who employ them and the communities they serve. 

The OPOT(C)ommission licenses basic training academies throughout the state, requiring 740 total hours of training.  To earn the STAR Academy Training Center award, police academies must meet at least a dozen additional criteria points beyond the minimum training required by OPOTC – a benchmark that the GOPA Police Academy routinely exceeds.

The GOPA Police Academy training includes 800 hours of classroom and tactical training – over 60 hours more than is required by the OPOTC. Other areas in which the GOPA Police Academy exceeds standards include both mandatory and optional criteria, such as periodic academic assessments, written discipline policy, evaluations, certification exam pass rates, number of instructors and cadet skills that include communication, community relations/engagement, interview skills, de-escalation, officer health/financial wellness, autism awareness, public speaking and additional training.