Applications are due by Wednesday, said Sgt. Joe Tedeschi of the Springfield Police Division’s Community Response Team. The class is limited to about 20 participants, he said. The sessions will be held each Tuesday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
“It typically fills up pretty quick,” Tedeschi said.
More than 400 people have graduated from the academy, which began in the fall of 2003, Tedeschi said.
The academy provides residents with a first-hand account of how the police division operates, rather than what they see or hear from others — at a time when community/police relations are a hot topic across the nation, Tedeschi said.
“The truth is that folks who attend the class get to find out first-hand how things work in the police division,” Tedeschi said. “They can hear and see how things are done.”
During the 13-week course, attendees will learn about different aspects of the police division, including uniform patrol, traffic enforcement, use of force, special operations unit and the K-9 operation, among others.
“It’s a wide variety of the day-to-day operations of a police officer and how the operation functions,” Tedeschi said.
The academy has spawned a non-profit organization, the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, which supports the police division throughout the year.
The group raised about $24,000 in 2013 to purchase two K9 officers for the police division. The money paid for the dogs and training, providing around the clock K9 coverage.
For more information or to register for the academy, call 937-324-7728 or log on to SpringfieldOhio.gov.
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