Tallahassee Citizens' Academy - March 6, 2018
Class #1: Opening Night
My first night at the Tallahassee Citizens' Academy, I didn’t know what to expect.
I’d heard of the Academy but my knowledge about the program ended there. I knew it existed, but didn't know what function it served or what kind of specialized demonstrations it offered free of charge to the citizens it serves every day… and man, was I in for a surprise.
As soon as I walk through the doors on 7th Avenue, I’m greeted by Sgt. Highland. She escorts me through a large security door, through a hallway, and into a classroom filled with TPD staff and other Citizens' Police Academy participants.
There are 12 participants in the course, the majority of whom I notice, are women. The group is diverse, and colorful. There are aspiring law enforcement, sure, but there are also local students, retirees, city government candidates, and stay at home mothers. All of whom are enthusiastic about being there, but like me, don’t quite know what they were in for.
Chief DeLeo was one of the first speakers of the evening. He addressed the crowd in a relaxed manner, welcoming us to the CPA. He explained that in order for us to get the most out of our experiences here we should be passionately curious.
“I encourage you to ask questions. Our overall goal is that we can get people excited about the work we do in hopes we can inspire people to become more actively involved and perhaps even encourage others to participate. By the end of this Academy, we want our citizens to get to know our police officers better.”
The message of community based policing and developing healthy relationship with residents echoed throughout the evening.
“Everyone is in their own little bubble,” Sgt. Highland explained. “Working with TPD showed me sides to Tallahassee I never knew existed.”
The Citizens' Police Academy has four main course objectives:
- To educate, inform, and encourage involvement between citizens and their police department
- Build community support by creating and fostering new relationships between TPD and those they serve
- Provide hands-on training regarding real law enforcement issues
- Dispel “Hollywood myths” (Think Bruce Willis in Die Hard)
That’s great and all but how does TPD plan to accomplish all of those things in 9 short weeks?
Each Citizens' Police Academy class will incorporate classroom education in addition to field instruction. Each week, a different topic. Ranging from the TPD Traffic Unit, Tasers, Forensics, a K-9 demonstration (which I’m most excited for), and a real deal ride-along towards the end of the program.
Given the choice, I think the average person might rather be at home with a cold beer after a long day’s work rather than spending their evenings alongside 12 strangers learning about traffic citations.
But if this is a process… then I’m putting my trust in it. By the end of this program I’m hoping to have a better understanding of the inner workings of the Tallahassee Police Department, and to ultimately become a more informed journalist.
Next week the real fun begins with a class centered around...tasers. Wish me luck.
Until next week, I’m Casey Feindt for WTXL ABC 27.
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Fun Facts
- TPD was established in 1841 and is the oldest continually operated police department in the Southern United States. They’re even older than the NYPD.
- TPD has over 600 current employees.
- The first TPD Citizens Police Academy was started in 1994 and since then they have seen well over 1,000 students graduate from it.
Do you have a question you want to ask TPD about our next topic? Tweet to me @CaseyF_WTXL with the hashtag #TPDCitzenAcademy2018
Stay tuned for the next edition of Casey at the Academy next Wednesday!
