How old do you have to start in the Police academy ?

Depends on the state and the type of police academy.

A number of states yu cannot enroll in a police academy on your own. You have to be hired by a department first and then they send you.

In states that do allow "self sponsorship" some are as low as 18.5 most 21 or 20.

Some states have 2 year academies associated with a community college. You start attending after high school and earn an associates degree at the same time.

SVU is a detective position. You have to work for a department that is big enough to have a separate SVU from other detectives. Most do not.

You can go to the police academy at the age of 18, but with most specialized units you have to be 21 or older. You have to be a detective to work with special victims unit which is four years of being a policeman after the academy. So if you enter the academy at 18 you would be at least 21 by the time you were eligible for that job.

Sexual Assault units and K9 are something you can apply for after you've been able to get a job as a police officer, and after being a patrol officer for 2-3 years. After that, you can apply and test to get into those units only if an opening comes available. These units are very competitive and you will be testing against many other officers in your department. Academies prepare you for patrol, not specialty units. You can go to most academies when you're 21.

I think 20. But its very competeive to get into so you should go to college and get you AS degree first