Seven people were recently selected for the Kaua'i Police Department's 79th recruit class.

The recruits are undergoing 23 weeks of training, which includes classroom instruction and hands-on training.

A newly hired public safety worker is completing several modules of the police recruit's training before being assigned to a police cellblock. Among the topics covered in the training are civil rights, search and seizure, arrest procedures, physical fitness, firearms, criminal investigations, defensive driving, public corruption and ethics.

Kaua'i Police Chief Darryl Perry said recruitment is the department's top priority.