Police Citizen's Academy

Phil and Julie Gross first attended a Citizen's Academy in San Rafael, California; at that time it was the only one offered in the northern part of the state. When Petaluma got a new Police Chief they approached him with the idea of a Citizen's Academy for Petaluma. Phil Gross, Director of The Polly Klass Foundation, believes these courses given by the police for local citizens are a valuable tool in helping promote community awareness and a bonding between the police force and the citizens it serves.

"Most people have little interaction with their local police, and when they do, it's on a negative basis. The idea of a Citizen's Academy, where local residents can meet the police, learn what to do and the procedures they follow, is something that is catching on all over the state. In the work we do, which can also involve some negative aspects of crime, we work closely with the local police. But all citizens can benefit from getting to know them, and about them."

Petaluma's Citizen Academy is held twice a year for adults, and runs for twelve weeks, one seminar of three hours each week. This is akin to a college course, and although it is free, the amount of information provided to students is staggering. The courses are limited to 20 people each. For teens, there is a more interactive course during which they actually ride along with police and solve a murder mystery.

Each segment is taught by the officers who specialize in a particular area of police work. The Bike instructor demonstrates the bicycle he rides, how he learned to ride up and down stairs (and you thought they only did that on Pacific Blue!) and how bike officers work in pairs to pursue people, control crowds or stop auto traffic.

The adult course begins with an introduction and Department Tour. The second class covers the History of Law Enforcement, the Bike Team, and what it takes to join the force. This last continues during the third week with the story of the Police Academy and Laws of Arrest, community-involved policing and Patrol Procedures. Subsequent weeks will cover everything from Juvenile Issues to the D.A.R.E. Program, the S.W.A.T. team and Domestic Violence.

The most popular class with most citizens? K-9, taught by Officer Paul Accornero and his canine sidekick, Roy. But none of these classes are superficial in nature; if a woman needs to know about domestic violence or sexual assault, if parents want to know about gang activity or the D.A.R.E. Program, they will receive approximately 30 pages of material for each subject.

The S.W.A.T. segment, for example, contains a special report about the history of S.W.A.T. teams (the initials mean Special Weapons and Tactics), tactical terminology, another report about creating a special agency tactical team, how the team enters a building, how to incapacitate a subject with the least amount of injury, special weapons and tactics, and the use of police snipers. The K-9 unit packet includes the use of canine terms, illustrations having to do with the use of police dogs in various situations, the training of the dogs, the history of K-9 teams and canine case law, articles about K-9 units, and most important to animal lovers -- interaction with Roy, the canine K-9 instructor!

As in many small cities, the police department in Petaluma has a dubious public relations record with the citizenry. Nearly everyone I talked to about writing this piece relayed their own semi-humorous horror story about a non-criminal interaction with the local constabulary that was far less than satisfactory, mostly due to over-zealousness and bungled understanding.

Jason Miles, the civilian Training Manager and Coordinator of the Citizen Academy, feels both the adult and teen courses go a long way to establish understanding and rapport between the town citizens and their police force. Phil Gross believes at least one city in every county should offer a Citizen Academy. Want to set up one in your city? Contact Jason Miles at 707/778-4449 -- he'll help you get started.