The Ethiopian Police University College is a public institution of higher education in Ethiopia dedicated to training police officers. Its main campus is located in Sendafa, a town 38 kilometers north of Addis Ababa.
History
The College opened in 1946, staffed by Swedish instructors, although since 1960 the faculty has consisted entirely of Ethiopians who were police college graduates. Candidates for the two-year course had to have a secondary school education or its equivalent. Officers usually were commissioned after completion of a cadet course. After the Derg took power, the government increased enrollment to bring new blood into the national police; from 1974 to 1979, about 800 graduates received commissions as second lieutenants.
Instruction at the college includes general courses in police science, criminal law, tactics, traffic control, sociology, criminology, physical education, and first aid. Practical training was offered midway in the program and sometimes entailed field service in troubled areas. Those cadets who had passed their final examinations with distinction were selected for further specialized training. The police college also offers short-term courses and refresher training for service officers. By the end of 1990, the police college had graduated a total of 3,951 officer cadets in the years since its establishment in 1946.