The Nebraska State Patrol has begun training a new recruitment class.

Authorities say the 25 members of the 55th recruiting class began instruction Monday. They will go through 23 weeks of training.

The class is made up of 20 males and five females. They were identified through interviews and testing that took place over several months.

The recruits’ training will include more than 1,000 hours of instruction. They will be housed and taught at the patrol’s training academy by the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island.