By Sadie Hunter
The Noblesville Police Dept. announced the start of its next session of Citizen’s Police Academy Aug. 2.
The fall session will begin Sept. 13, and the NPD is accepting applications. Graduation from will be Nov. 22. Classes will be held every Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
The academy is an 11-week course, free of charge, designed to provide community members an opportunity to become better acquainted with professional staff and to learn about police procedures.
The academy aims to familiarize citizens with the operations of the police department, including classes on patrol procedures, criminal law, narcotics, search and seizure, tactical operations, investigations, juvenile law, firearms demonstration, emergency vehicle operations, use-of-force issues and police canine demonstration.
Participants also will have the option to ride with a patrol officer and witness the street activity officers encounter daily.
“The objective of the Citizens Police Academy is not to create quasi-cops, but to produce informed citizens,” Lt. Bruce Barnes stated in a press release. “The academy is intended to open lines of communication between the community and the police department. By allowing citizens a firsthand look at the police department and how its operations are handled, citizens take away a better understanding of the police role in the community. Additionally, citizens bring a wealth of knowledge about their community and particularly, the problems in their neighborhood. In this way, police are able to learn and better understand the concerns of the citizens.”
Eligible candidates must be at least 16 years of age, have no felony convictions and no misdemeanor convictions within the past three years, pass a background check and reside or be employed in Noblesville.
Applications are available online at cityofnoblesville.org/police or at the Noblesville Police Dept. For more, contact Lt. Barnes at 317-776-6340, ext. 1243, or at [email protected].
