The Unit for Police Training – the Police Academy is an internal organisational unit of the Administration for Police Education of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior.
The Police Academy was established in 1999, as a part of the Administration for Police Education of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior, headquartered in Banja Luka.
The scope of activities of the Police Academy includes training sessions for police cadets and employees of the Ministry, as well as professional training for the employees of the Ministry, in accordance with the regulation on the procedure of police training and cadets’ obligations during the training.
In accordance with the needs and possibilities of the Ministry, the Police Academy may realise the training of police officers through seminars and courses, based on the curricula adopted by the Minister of the Interior.
The Unit for police training – the Police Academy – is managed by the head of the Unit.
The expert authority of the Police Academy is the Teachers’ Council.
The Teachers’ Council consists of teachers, inspectors, heads of departments, professional associates, and associates of the Police Academy. Teachers’ Council proposes curricula, considers proposals for the annual plan of activities of the Police Academy, analyses and verifies the success of cadets and trainees, analyses the work of teachers, inspectors, professional associates, and other associates, proposes measures for the improvement of police training, considers and verifies exam reports, considers and makes decisions on education and discipline measures for the cadets and trainees, and performs other tasks defined by the Statute and other general acts of the Police Academy.

Police training is organised for the following groups:
1) cadets with at least IV level of professional qualifications that are trained for the rank of junior police officer,
2) employees of the Ministry with IV level of professional qualifications without police education that are trained for the rank of junior police officer, who had previously been employed with the Ministry,
3) employees of the Ministry whose aim is to renew their knowledge,
4) employees of the Ministry with at least VI level of professional qualifications without police education that are trained for the rank of junior inspector who were employed with the Ministry with VI level of professional qualifications before the reform of higher education in the Republic of Srpska was implemented in accordance with the Law on University,
5) employees with VII level of professional qualifications who have no police education and are employed with the Ministry on the positions of police officers in accordance with Article 71, paragraph 4, of the Law on Police and Internal Affairs and who are trained for the rank of junior inspector,
6) employees with police education who have finished College of Internal Affairs or Higher School of Internal Affairs and who are trained for the rank of junior police officer.
Training for renewing knowledge is organised for the following groups:
1) employees of the Ministry who are deployed to the position of a police officer who had previously performed police tasks in the Ministry for less than five years, and
2) decertified policemen who were deployed to a position of a police officer based on the final judgement.
Police training of cadets and employees of the Ministry is performed based on the curricula.
The Minister shall adopt the curricula proposed by the Administration, and the proposals for curricula are made by the Police Academy.
Amendments to the curricula may be adopted for the purpose of harmonisation with practice and the needs of the Ministry, before the enrollment of the new class of cadets or before the beginning of police training of the employees of the Ministry.
During the police training, cadets and trainees are provided with the boarding school accommodation within the Administration.
Mutual rights and obligations between the cadets and the Ministry shall be defined in a special contract, and for other trainees in a decision on the admission to employment with the Ministry.

The concept of police training includes the police training of cadets in the Police Academy, internship within the organisational units of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior and professional training at the Police Academy.
Police training is realised in two phases of training that represent a connected whole, after which the police officers-interns take a professional exam.
The total period of duration of police training and internship and professional training and the time planned for taking a professional exam is approximately 14 months, out of which one spends 36 teaching weeks at the Police Academy and six months within the organisational units of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior.
The cadets that successfully pass the first 36 weeks of police training shall obtain the certificate on the completed first phase of police training, upon which they are deployed to the organisational units of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior for internship.
The internship is realised in the organisational units of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior during the period of six months. In exceptional cases, in justified situations (e.g. education deployment), it is considered that the internship was realised if a trainee realised two thirds of the necessary fund of work days or working hours.
The purpose of training is to enable cadets to perform the activities of a police officer – a police officer with general competence with the rank of a junior police officer.
The aim of police training is to enable cadets to competently perform basic police activities in accordance with the Republic of Srpska Law on Police and Internal Affairs, as well as international agreements and conventions adopted by the Republic of Srpska, and with standards of police procedure.
The curriculum of police training is made in accordance with subject-module system, which consists of the following:

• courses studying general topics on police work,
• police skills,
• professional modules,
• situational training,
• professional modules,
• situational training, and
• seminar part of teaching contents

Practical training – internship is realised in the organisational units of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior during the period of six months.
The interns who pass their internship with a positive grade have fulfilled the conditions for taking a professional exam.

Admission of cadets is performed based on a public competition announced by the Minister, according to the needs determined by the Ministry.
The process of application, selection and enrollment of cadets is performed based on the regulations on the procedure of selecting candidates for cadets for police training at the Unit for Police Training – Police Academy (the Rulebook on the Procedure of Selecting Candidates for Police Training at the Unit for Police Training – Police Academy).
The number of trainees shall be determined by the competent Administration in accordance with the needs.
The following steps must be taken in order to enrol the Police Academy:

• The Competition for the admission of cadets that defines general and special conditions shall be announced. The Competition shall be announced in the media (daily edition of ‘Glas Srpske’ newspaper) and on the webpage of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior and the bulletin boards of respective police administrations and police stations.
• Candidates who meet the requirements prescribed in the Competition shall submit their applications in a special form.
• Applications may be submitted as defined by the Competition.

The central commission shall invite the candidates that meet the requirements defined by the Competition to attend the selection procedure as published on the website of the Ministry.
The first part of the selection includes medical examination realised at a competent health institution in accordance with the Rulebook on Health Conditions of the Employees, as well as candidates for a position or training at the Ministry of the Interior.
The second part of the selection is attended by the candidates who met the requirements defined by the Rulebook on Health Conditions of the Employees and Candidates for a Position or Training at the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior.
The second part of selection includes the following types of testing:
A practical test – checking motor skills, realised in accordance with the Rules for Implementing the Procedure of Selecting Candidates for the Cadets of Police Training at the Unit for Police Training –  the Police Academy.
When this part has been finished, the cadets attend a written test – a general knowledge test and an essay on a given topic.
The final part of selection is an interview.
The commission for candidate selection shall make a provisional list in accordance with the results gained in respective police administrations, perform a selection, and provide the final list of selected candidates, which is published on the bulletin board of the Police Academy and the webpage of the Ministry.
All information for the candidates during the selection (list of the invited candidates, place, and time of testing) shall be published only on the webpage of the Ministry.