Attendees develop insight, respect at Citizen Police Academy

FAYETTEVILLE -- Residents interested in gaining a better understanding of how the police department operates can attend the 2018 Citizen Police Academy.

Cpl. Tiffany Lindley said the 10-week program aims to involve residents in the safety and welfare of their community and helps explain how and why officers make decisions in the course of their duties.

The academy is one of the Police Department's Community Policing Division's many programs. The division works with residents on ways to reduce crime and handle other issues in neighborhoods. These range from neighborhood watch programs to crime prevention lectures and presentations, to law enforcement intervention and nuisance abatement, according the department website.

One of the main goals of the academy is transparency, Lindley said.

"The more people know about our standard operating procedures and how we like to operate, when we get that out to civilians, they are more understanding when things do happen and are less likely to jump to the conclusion that we are hiding something," she said.

Citizen academies seem to be effective programs for Northwest Arkansas police departments, according to officers and participants. Fayetteville's began in 2004. Bentonville and Rogers started programs in 1999 and 2013, respectively.

The citizens police academies have gained widespread popularity across the United States. For many police departments, the academies represent a way for residents to interact with law enforcement officials in a positive setting.

Several studies show the academies are effective in increasing residents' knowledge of the department and positively influencing their perceptions of those in law enforcement.

However, one criticism is many participants hear about a local citizen academy through family and friends, which limits the diversity of participants. Another is, despite the widespread acceptance of citizen police academies, little empirical evidence exists regarding the specific benefits of the curriculum, such as any connection to a reduction in crime, according to the 2007 study "Citizens Police Academies: Beliefs and Perceptions Regarding the Program."

During Fayetteville's academy, participants will learn about each division, including patrol, communications, criminal investigations and terrorism. Lindley said participants enjoy some classes better than others depending on their interests, but most really enjoy police dog day.

Springdale does not have a citizens police academy. Lindley said they are flexible about allowing residents from nearby towns to participate. They would like about 25 people, she said. Applicants must be 21 years old and agree to a background check. There is no cost, and the meetings are every Tuesday evening from Sept. 11 to Nov. 13.

Bentonville and Rogers each will have academies in the spring, police spokesmen said.

"The attendance has been great, so we try to cap it between 20-25 participants to ensure opportunities for engagement," said Gene Page, Bentonville Police spokesman. "The academy has been one of our most popular courses, and it fills up quick."

Page said their goal is the expand to two academies a year to give more people an opportunity to attend.

Attendees often range from younger adults thinking of joining a police department, middle-aged people wanting to better understand their community and retired folks looking for something to do, Lindley said. The officers running the academy welcome both supporters and skeptics of the department, she said.

Fayetteville resident Kent Johnson seemed to lean on the skeptical side when he joined last year. He saw the national problems between police and blacks and felt compelled to better understand his own department, Johnson said.

"I chose to do it, one, to see things from the side of law enforcement and be exposed to what they do on a day to day basis; two, to get an inside look at their approach, especially in how they deal with minorities," he said. "For the most part, it was positive. I also saw the pressure they are under and the split-second decisions they have to make."

Johnson said he can only speak about Fayetteville, but the city has a great department that cares and tries to help the city.

"If anyone has any concerns about how the department operates, or, if they want to see something change, I think it would be a good opportunity to ask questions, blatant in-your-face questions, and they will answer. When you are in a class, there is no evading the question," he said. "I recommend it to anyone who felt like I felt, who needs to know what is going on at the police department in the city in which they live."

Fayetteville resident Shannon Stowe said she attended the academy a couple years ago after she heard her husband's and friends' experiences when they attended. With all the negativity surrounding officers, she wanted to see their side, Stowe said.

"Plus, I thought it would be fun," she said.

Stowe was amazed at how the investigative process plays out in real life, she said.

"Their lead investigator took us through a case that seemed a clear-cut homicide on the surface, but once all the facts were revealed, it turned out the death was a combination of an undiscovered birth defect and a drunken fall," Stowe said. "They saw the case all the way through."

Johnson and Stowe said they better understand the stress of being a police officer and a dispatcher.

"One of the most moving lessons we had was when dispatch came in to talk," Stowe said. "They played a few of the calls they'd received. Some were funny, some were really hard to listen to. They have to listen for every detail they can, even sometimes listening to someone being attacked, officers being beaten. I truly have a new respect for the dispatchers."

NW News on 08/20/2018