Novato Police Extend Deadline for Community Police Academy Registration

The following is a news release from the Novato Police Department:

The Novato Police Department is extending the registration period of the Community Police Academy 8 through Friday, April 10, 2015.

The Novato Police Department is proud to present the 8th Novato Police Department Community Academy. The Community Academy is an eight-week overview of the Novato Police Department and law enforcement in our community. Each session will be presented on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30 p.m. except for a 5-hour field exercise training day, which will be held on a Saturday. The first session will be on Thursday, April 16, 2015.

The Novato Police Department’s Community Academy provides community members with an inside look at local law enforcement. While at the Academy, community members/students are introduced to a variety of law enforcement topics. The eight-week academy program is designed to give community members an overview of the police department’s function and operational procedures.

The curriculum and teaching methods are similar to the traditional police academy; however, the once-weekly sessions are not designed to train the participant as a police officer. Police officers and civilian employees teach the academy classes. Participants also have the opportunity to meet with the Chief of Police and staff members. They are encouraged to ask questions and express ideas and foster a partnership with our community.

The curriculum for the Community Academy includes:

• A welcome and introduction to the Novato Police Department by the Chief of Police
• Community policing concepts
• Patrol procedures
• Investigative procedures
• Officer safety issues
• Use of force
• Communications/911
• Crime Free Multi-Housing Program
• Ethics/Professional standards
• Criminal laws/laws of arrest/legal issues
• Crime scene investigations
• Records management
• Property and evidence
• Special teams and units
and much more

In addition to the classroom curriculum, the students have the opportunity to participate in a ride-along with a Novato police officer. During the ride-along, students get a chance to experience modern law enforcement first hand.

Many Novato residents have participated in previous community academy classes (previously called Citizen’s Police Academy). The response we have received has been uniformly positive and the graduates have found the course to be informative, engaging, and enjoyable. The Community Academy class size is limited so please submit your application as soon as possible. The Chief of Police selects participants through an application process. Academy participants must meet the following criteria:

• Minimum age of 18 years (Must be at least a high school senior) and live or work in Novato.
• Successfully pass a background investigation.
• Have no felony convictions.
• Have no misdemeanor convictions within one year of the application.

The Community Academy has become a key element in the Novato Police Department’s commitment to community policing and has created a collaborative partnership with the community. As a graduate of the Community Academy, it opens an opportunity to become one of the important police volunteers with the Novato Police Department.

To obtain an application, please use the following link: http://novato.org/government/police-department/community-programs/community-police-academy

You may also contact the Novato Police Department at (415) 897-4361 or visit the City’s website at www.novato.org and search under the Police Department tab.

The final date to submit completed applications is April 10, 2015.