Public Safety offers spring police academy

Public Safety is offering a 12-week police academy open to students, faculty and staff in hopes of shining a new light on the department. Participants in the academy get a chance to learn about law enforcement through class lectures and hands-on experience. The in-class lectures are held Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Arts and Sciences Building, room 2-75.

Students will also meet outside of class for more involved training. Students enrolled in the class will be taught about the criminal justice system, police patrol techniques, crime prevention programs, defense tactics, traffic stops, making arrests, investigations, firearms and the court system.

Sgt. Greg Williams is in charge of the program, which is being held for the second time this school year. In the fall 18 participants were enrolled in the course.

“The class last semester was probably half women. There are a lot of females that participate,” Williams said. “We had a lot of sophomores, juniors, some seniors and a few freshmen.”

Williams believes that the low number of freshmen participants in the fall was because new students on campus are often bombarded with various clubs and activities, and have not yet learned about the program. The class is open to students and faculty who have an interest in the field of law enforcement.

“I honestly believe members of the faculty and staff can learn as much from this course as students,” said Dr. Carrie Cook, assistant professor of criminal justice. “I felt like I was a student because that was the nature of my role in the academy. The course was extremely informative about several aspects of policing.”

The class is even open to students who attended the academy previously. Senior sociology major Camille Fonseca enjoyed the class so much last semester that she decided to enroll again this time around.

“My criminal justice professor mentioned it to us and said she would be taking the course, so I went to the first meeting and thought it would be a lot of fun, and I had the best experience ever,” Fonseca said. “I joined the second time because I really enjoyed myself, the officers, shooting, activities and that my professor was doing it as well.”

During the course, students observe the everyday duties of Public Safety officers.

“It’s a great way for people to understand if they want to be a police officer or a law enforcement officer,” Williams said. “It’s the sheer experience of you getting to kick a door down legally; you get to conduct an investigation.”

Detectives Robert Butler and Michael Baker will create a mock crime scene and plant evidence for students to collect, and construct a criminal case, which they will then take to a mock trial in the city municipal court toward the end of the course.

“We’re going to set you up in a scenario of investigation and we’re going to make it real,” Williams said. “You’re going to come out of there with the experience and the knowledge.”

Participants also receive firearms training and will be given a chance to visit a firing range for live-fire practice. Students must buy their own ammunition, which constitutes the only cost of the course.

“My favorite part of the class was the gun range,” Fonseca said. “I also liked the active shooter scenario, where we went upstairs in Beeson (Hall) in groups of four with a hostage. Our job was to capture or shoot the shooter and rescue others.”

Participants who complete the course by attending regularly will be recognized with a certificate at the end of the 12-week program at a banquet dinner. Students and faculty who are interested in attending the course should visit the Public Safety Web site to download an application, which can be e-mailed or dropped off in person at the Public Safety office located at 300 N. Wayne St.

“I’ve learned that it’s much more than riding around in cars and writing tickets. They are really there to protect, serve, and educate.” Fonseca said. “I would tell a fellow student that this program is like no other experience, and it’s the most up-close and personal course that you will encounter in college.”

Posted by Drake Simons on Jan 29 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry