Citizens Police Academy

Protected One · May 18, 2016

Well, tonight I graduate from the Citizens Police Academy - Class of 2016! Yay. Don't know what to expect at the dinner, but the class has been 12 weeks of learning and fun.

To those whose area police departments offer this to the citizenry I highly recommend taking advantage of it. There is no cost (at least, not here), you will learn much, AND...if your course if constructed the way ours was, you get two training sessions with a tactical firearms instructor and get to experience the simulator!!!

SC_Mike · May 18, 2016

Knowledge, training and experience are always good.

Congratulations!

H Richard · May 18, 2016

I did one a couple years ago, 10 weeks at 4 hours sessions every Thurs. evening. It did include a trip to the range to fire Glocks and AR's. We did drug stops, ride alongs. and had a session on every department in the PD. Very interesting and makes you appreciate your local Police Dept.

StakeOut · May 18, 2016

SC_Mike said:
Knowledge, training and experience are always good.

Congratulations!

Always and Never are 2 words that should never be used and always have exceptions.

A little bit of police training and knowledge can be dangerous for certain civilians making bad judgements later.

SC_Mike · May 18, 2016

StakeOut said:
Always and Never are 2 words that should never be used and always have exceptions.

A little bit of police training and knowledge can be dangerous for certain civilians making bad judgements later.

So what do you recommend the non LE persons to do to become more knowledgable and to make sound judgements? If not go the the police for training, who do we go to?

Ivan the Butcher · May 18, 2016

Now boys, Don't fight!

StakeOut · May 18, 2016

SC_Mike said:
So what do you recommend the non LE persons to do to become more knowledgable and to make sound judgements? If not go the the police for training, who do we go to?

It depends on exactly what you want to learn,the motivation for learning it and how you would get to use what you learned.

Do you want to be a police buff or an Auxiliary Police Person?

Law Enforcement Agencies IMO would be better served training and equipping their professional staff better,than to be wasting valuable resources on the general public.

There are many places that offer firearms tactics and lessons on law but they are probably not a freebie.

Protected One · May 18, 2016

StakeOut said:
Always and Never are 2 words that should never be used and always have exceptions.

A little bit of police training and knowledge can be dangerous for certain civilians making bad judgements later.

I would suggest that WITHOUT that knowledge those people would have made even worse decisions. But that's neither here nor there.

The Academy was created to provide the public with information to assist them in making informed judgements about local law enforcement. The goal of the Academy, through the educational process, is to increase public awareness and create strong partnerships between law enforcement and the community. Each Academy graduate will gain a deeper knowledge of how the criminal justice system fits into their community. Participating departments will become more aware of the feelings and concerns citizens within their communities may have.

Let's try not to get sidetracked into arguing who MIGHT do what with that knowledge.

Fishinfool · May 18, 2016

Good for you.

Never heard of that program. Does it offer any certifications as a LEO? Back in the day, 3 months (approx. 500 hours) led to MPTC Certification as a LEO (a recognized minimum national standard for a sworn LEO).

Knowledge is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong with involving citizens in the workings of their local police.

When I was a state trooper in CT in the 1980's, we had Auxiliary Troopers who were regular citizens who volunteered their time, one shift a week to assist. They attended 6 months of academy, two days a week, and completed the same basic firearms and driving training as regular troopers. Although sworn, policy was for them not to make arrests unless it was an emergency, as they were not paid for court time.They wore a uniform, carried an issue weapon, and patrolled in marked cars. They did a bang up job, and on more than one hairy occasion, they were my only back up, and I was glad to have em.

Larry

chud333 · May 18, 2016

Can't see any problems that might arise with the general
public riding along on drug busts ???

The Cop shows on TV right now come to mind.

IMHO either go all in and become an officer of the law
or let the Cops be the Cops.

Chuck

Protected One · May 18, 2016

chud333 said:
Can't see any problems that might arise with the general
public riding along on drug busts ???

The Cop shows on TV right now come to mind.

IMHO either go all in and become an officer of the law
or let the Cops be the Cops.

Chuck

Citizens are not taken along on drug bust, so that's a non-issue.

Protected One · May 18, 2016

Fishinfool said:
Good for you.

Never heard of that program. Does it offer any certifications as a LEO? Back in the day, 3 months (approx. 500 hours) led to MPTC Certification as a LEO (a recognized minimum national standard for a sworn LEO).

Knowledge is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong with involving citizens in the workings of their local police.

Larry

No, it's a program designed to educate the public. Not a prep course for aspiring LEO'S.

Muss Muggins · May 18, 2016

StakeOut said:
It depends on exactly what you want to learn,the motivation for learning it and how you would get to use what you learned.

Do you want to be a police buff or an Auxiliary Police Person?

Law Enforcement Agencies IMO would be better served training and equipping their professional staff better,than to be wasting valuable resources on the general public.

There are many places that offer firearms tactics and lessons on law but they are probably not a freebie.

You are way over thinking this. These "academies" are used as PR tools. Think "Here's why we do it the way we do it . . . " It's not training, it's an explanation, with some hands on opportunities. After Ferguson, St. Louis County ran some reporters and citizens through some force on force training. They all came out of it with a deeper understanding of the split second life and death decisions that needed to be made. Nobody was trying to turn them into cops . . .

Philadelphia Patriot · May 18, 2016

Is it anything like the movie?

Arik · May 18, 2016

Philadelphia Patriot said:
Is it anything like the movie?

I was waiting for this. Surprise it took this long!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

rwsmith · May 18, 2016

The mistake isn't getting training.....

StakeOut said:
Always and Never are 2 words that should never be used and always have exceptions.

A little bit of police training and knowledge can be dangerous for certain civilians making bad judgements later.

The mistake is getting over confident thinking you are Joe Friday and jumping in over your head on something you should stay out of.

I think a little training is better than no training.

rwsmith · May 18, 2016

And because of what you say....

Muss Muggins said:
You are way over thinking this. These "academies" are used as PR tools. Think "Here's why we do it the way we do it . . . " It's not training, it's an explanation, with some hands on opportunities. After Ferguson, St. Louis County ran some reporters and citizens through some force on force training. They all came out of it with a deeper understanding of the split second life and death decisions that needed to be made. Nobody was trying to turn them into cops . . .

....with that in mind, I'm all for citizens getting more familiar with police work this way. I'm way to much of an idiot to be a policeman. They need clear thinking skills.

Faulkner · May 19, 2016

Muss Muggins said:
You are way over thinking this. These "academies" are used as PR tools. Think "Here's why we do it the way we do it . . . " It's not training, it's an explanation, with some hands on opportunities. After Ferguson, St. Louis County ran some reporters and citizens through some force on force training. They all came out of it with a deeper understanding of the split second life and death decisions that needed to be made. Nobody was trying to turn them into cops . . .

^^^ Excellent reply

It's obvious by some of the critical remarks that some of you have not been exposed to the purpose of citizen's academies. It's not LEO training, it's exposure to Law Enforcement processes and procedures that most law abiding citizens seldom see, if ever.

Our department holds an annual citizen's academy with about 30 participants (all go through background checks and are approved by the sheriff) and I usually do a presentation in one of the class sessions. It's a regular occurrence to have a class members come up to me during a break and say, "Ahhh, now I understand why it sometimes takes a couple of hours for an officer to respond when I call about my neighbor's barking dog."

pinduck · May 19, 2016

All the police I know are civilians, some are veterans also.
Glen

JamesArthur60 · May 19, 2016

You should try the Citizens Fire Academy next. I did and it was very enlightening. It's a fun time using all the big boy tools firefighters use at a fire and/or vehicle crash scene. It's a physical hands on academy.

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