This week we re-instituted our Citizens’ Police Academy. It has been about twelve years since we last held this academy. Various reasons were the cause for not programing this training, but most recently it was because of budget concerns. We have talked about resurrecting the program in the past; and after becoming Chief, my staff and I made it a priority. We are saving overtime costs by having the commanders present as much information as possible, and the hourly staff are flexing their schedules. Our Planning and Research Manager Greg Collins and Lieutenant Doug Orbin did the lion's share of planning to make this training happen.
The Citizens’ Police Academy is an opportunity for members of our community to see and experience the role of the law enforcement officer at a deeper level. Participants in the academy will meet and interact with officers and see how the members of the Shawnee Police Department work to maintain a safe community for all who live in, work in, or visit Shawnee. Over eight weeks, twenty women and men participating in this year’s academy will be presented information about the history of the Shawnee Police Department, police officer ethics, patrol operations, investigative procedures, support services operations, and many more topics. A big hit from past academies is the day they meet at a local firearms range to fire the various less-lethal and lethal weapons we use to perform our jobs.
This year’s participants include two members of the Shawnee City Council, residents of Shawnee, and individuals who work at businesses in Shawnee. One of the participants is a daughter of a retired Shawnee police officer who said she would like to follow her father’s footsteps and become a police officer in the future. Isn't that too cool???
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