Basic Police Academy Class #1 was an extended format academy that met for only four hours per day.   An extended format academy was offered in the morning and again in the evening.  Soon after, a full-time intensive format academy replaced the extended format academy offered in the morning.  In 1986, a reserve police academy program was created and offered during evening hours.  This program was 332 hours long and offered over the course of one semester, twice each year.  It soon replaced the evening extended format academy.    In 1994, because of changes in the law governing peace officer training, the reserve academy was replaced by an evening extended format basic police academy .  

In 1988, the California Department of Fish and Game affiliated with the training center and began offering a special format of the basic police academy especially for wardens.  This program was first known as the Resource Academy and was changed in 1999 to the Fish and Game Academy.  Unfortunately, in 2003, the State of California eliminated the program due to a budget crisis.  

The Fish and Game Academy was replaced with a corrections training program to serve local jails, probation departments, and juvenile hall facilities.  Curriculum development began in 2004, but again because of budget constraints, the program was not completed.  In the fall of 2005, the training center was selected as one of three centers to receive a grant from the California Department of Corrections and California Community College Chancellor's Office to develop a pilot academy for state correctional officers.  The first pilot academy graduated in December 2006.  The first adult corrections core course for local correctional officers will be offered in September 2007.  A full time permanent coordinator will be hired at that same time to continue development of the corrections program.

On January 7, 2006, with the start of our 62nd Basic Police Academy class, we launched the single largest and most significant change in the curriculum of the basic police academy in more than 20 years.  The changes include use of online testing in place of pencil and paper tests, a new curriculum that infuses the concepts of leadership, ethics, and community policing into every area of training.  We began a new competency based performance evaluation system and portfolio project.

Today, the Criminal Justice Training Center presents four basic police academy classes each year including two to three intensive format classes and one evening extended format class.  In addition, the training center offers a dozen different specialized advanced and instructor level courses as well as in-service training for local law enforcement agencies.  

On April 26, 2004, the Criminal Justice Training Center was presented with the prestigious Governor's Award For Excellence In Peace Officer Training - Organizational Achievement by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.  This award recognizes specifically innovative use of technology in the classroom, the community policing projects, our expanded ethics curriculum, and our work with instructor development.  This award is a tribute to every dedicated member of the training center staff.  

The design features the traditional law enforcement shield and a seven-point star signifying seven-day-a-week service. The outer white color ring includes the "Criminal Justice Training Center" name with an inner gold color ring that says, "Training the Best Since 1983," which was the year the first Basic Police Academy was held at Napa Valley College.  The center seal of the star includes a picture of the Napa Valley with its rich vineyards, rolling hills, and a hot air balloon which is a common site from the Academy grounds on sunny mornings.