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Citizens Police Academy comes to the Keen Age Center
By Anne Eickstadt
ANNE EICKSTADT Belvidere Daily Republican
Checking for fingerprints on a counterfeit $100 bill at the Citizens’ Police Academy.
The Citizens Police Academy (CPA) is an exclusive opportunity for individuals with professional or personal interest in community policing issues, practices, and operations in the City of Belvidere.
On Thursdays for ten weeks, starting Aug. 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. you can learn all about the Belvidere Police Dept. Each class is led by a police officer that is an expert in that specialty. Often the police officer is also an instructor within the Police Dept. as well so you will be learning from the same experts that rookies do with real life stories and experiences thrown in.
As with anything else, you have to start with basics:
-Session One includes a welcome to CPA by Mayor Mike Chamberlain and Deputy Chief Matthew Wallace, and an overall explanation of the police department structure. You will learn about rank structure, jurisdiction, how police officers are hired, and about operations and investigations.
-Session Two will take you through ‘A Day in the Life of a Police Officer’ where you will learn about the equipment a police officer carries, their normal duties and assignments, and typical calls they take to protect the community.
-Session Three is all about the most dangerous thing a police officer is called upon to do – traffic stops. Think about it. The officer never knows what he is getting into – a relatively innocent person who got lost in thought while his/her foot pressed on the accelerator in time with their racing thoughts; someone whose license has been revoked and they really would prefer not to face a cop; or a drug dealer who is armed and dangerous and willing to escape by any means.
Even the mildest person automatically rummages for license and registration when they should be keeping their hands on the steering wheel while the officer approaches – or are they reaching for a gun?
-Session 4 will teach you about DUIs – Driving Under the Influence. How can the officer tell when someone has been drinking, the definition of DUI, what they look for during field sobriety testing, demonstrations of the tests, how the tests were developed in the first place, and real-life dash cam videos will be shown.
-Session 5 is a double-header in specialized areas: You will hear from Dispatch – a 9-1-1 Operator – a job that requires expertise in multitasking, psychology, knowledge of medicine, an ability to remain calm during an emergency, and much more. Multiple times each day, this person has contact with people who are having a really bad day and has to call for the first responders to help at the same time she/he is attempting to support/calm down the person on the phone.
You will also get to meet a Police K-9 officer and his partner. You will learn a lot about this special partnership, training, and how eager these dogs are to get out and chase the perpetrators, locate drugs, or find the missing person.
“I don’t want knuckle draggers (on the SWAT Team). SWAT is a thinking man’s job. It’s like a chess game. We have to use tactics to outthink the suspects.”
-Session Seven addresses gang activity and drug operations. You will learn what has been/is being done in Belvidere and Boone County to identify and combat these issues.
-Session Eight will bring BPD detectives to describe Crime Scene Response in real life. On crime shows you see on television, the case is usually (unless it is continued to the next show) solved inside of an hour. In real life, it can take hours just to process the crime scene. The BPD detectives will tell you how they handle it.
-Session Nine is hands-on fun. The same detectives will have you process a crime scene, find clues, take photos, locate and bag evidence, and return it to a ‘lab’ where you can utilize fingerprint powder and other forensic tools to acquire the evidence you need to solve the case.
-Session Ten is a party. Congratulations, you have graduated the CPA. Mayor Mike will return for the festivities and you will receive a Certificate of Completion. You have learned things that you can do as a citizen to help the police. You will also be given the option of joining the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) to assist the police in events and activities throughout the year.
“It’s a wonderful program,” said Officer Tim Blankenship. “It’s very informative.”
To register for this program, please call the Keen Age Center at 815-544-9893 or stop at the front desk to register in person.
