Student police academy provides hands-on experience, knowledge

Georgia College Public Safety is hosting their biannual Student Police Academy on Aug. 31. The police academy is designed to give students, faculty and staff who are interested in law enforcement a chance to see how all aspects of a police force operate.

The police academy will provide all participants with hands-on training, which will give the participant a unique perspective on law enforcement.

Students, faculty and staff will be able to participate in firearms training at a live firing range, conduct mock traffic stops, investigate mock crime scenes and participate in ride-a-longs with patrol officers.

“The goal of the academy is to get students out of the classroom and into the field,” Detective Michael Baker said.

Each division within Public Safety will assist with the academy to provide the most comprehensive experience as possible. Some of the divisions include patrol, communications, investigation and emergency preparedness.

“A lot of the officers will help out with the academy so students can see all sides of the department,” Lieutenant Greg Williams said.

The goal of the academy is to give participants a true understanding of law enforcement and foster a better relationship between the university community and Public Safety.

Students will gain a better understanding of the important role the GC Police have in their college experience.

Recruitment for the police academy began in late July and will continue until Aug. 31.  The classroom size is limited to 24 participants. Students, faculty and have already begun submitting applications.

There are no qualifications for students, faculty or staff to apply to participate in the academy.

“We already have some faculty and staff members who have signed up for this year’s academy,” Baker said.

The majority of students who typically sign up for the police academy are criminal justice majors.

“We are working on making the police academy count for some type of school credit, even if it is just one hour,” Baker said. “The academy is definitely a resume booster, though.”

Any students, faculty or staff who are interested in signing up for the police academy can visit Public Safety’s website at http://www.gcsu.edu/publicsafety/studentpoliceacademy.htm to fill out an application.

The applicants then must deliver their applications to Lt. Greg Williams or Sgt. Michael Baker at the police department.

The first meeting has not been planned, but a tentative schedule should be posted on the website soon.

Posted by TaylorSeay on Aug 4 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.