Prince George's County Residents Graduate from Prince George's County Citizens Police Academy

I was among the 48 graduates of the Prince George's County Citizens Police Academy to graduate this week. During the 12 weeks of class, I learned more about police operations. Among the topics covered were citizen/police interaction; recruiting of police officers, background investigation; media relations; community policing; homeland security; internal affairs; medical examiner and death investigation; forensics/DNA; response to sexual assault; criminal investigations division; evidence; domestic violence, and use of force. Students also participated in two "field trips": the first one was to the public safety communications center to learn more about 911 calls and the second one was to the special operations division (SOD) to learn more about the SWAT team, the aviation unit, the marine unit, the K-9 unit, the motorcycle unit, and the traffic unit (collision and analysis unit). Students also received information from two separate organizations, the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (CPAAA) and Volunteers in Police Service (V.I.P.S.). Graduates of the Citizens Police Academy have the opportunity to become members of the CPAAA and/or volunteer at CPAAA and V.I.P.S. to further strengthen their relationship with their local police while giving back to the community. The website for CPAAA is www.pgccpaaa.org. To learn more about the origin of V.I.P.S., please visit http://www.iacp.org/VIPS

During these 12 weeks, 48 strangers from all walks of life went to class to get an in-depth knowledge of why the police do what they do. The experience was wonderful on many levels. Please contact your local district (there are 7 police districts in Prince George's County) to request more information. Prospective students must pass a background check prior to acceptance into the program.