After completing their mission in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), Officer Carey Mahoney, and the rest of the original graduates from Commandant Eric Lassard's Police Academy (1984) find themselves with their backs to the wall. It seems that, due to funding cutbacks, there can only be one police institution in the city, and Commandants Lassard and Mauser must do their best to get Governor Neilson's approval. Of course, conniving Mauser has already concocted an ingeniously evil plan to sabotage his rivals. Can Mahoney, along with a handful of recruits, save the day and their beloved academy?