Applications closing for Mildura police academy inaugral intake

Applications are closing soon for the first intake of recruits at Victoria’s new regional police academy in Mildura, with Victoria Police urging any last-minute applicants to get their forms in before the July 17 deadline.

More than 100 prospective police have already applied for the inaugural January intake, which will be the first squad to train at the new academy.

Victoria Police says more than half of applicants are from the Mildura region, including the city itself and nearby Irymple and Red Cliffs, while around one in five are from interstate, primarily New South Wales border communities.

The academy will open on January 18, allowing future officers to complete their entire 25-week police training program regionally in Mildura, rather than travelling to Melbourne.

Recruits will graduate locally before being deployed across the Mallee region, receiving the same salary and conditions as trainees at the Victoria Police Academy in Glen Waverley.

Mildura Police Detective Inspector David Rowe says the response to the regional academy has been "extraordinary", reminding anyone interested in being among the first recruits to submit their applications by Friday.