The University’s Citizens’ Police Academy may be offered in both the fall and spring semesters depending on the amount of interest in the second holding of the academy, according to Capt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police.
The Citizens’ Police Academy will be held on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., beginning Feb. 12 and running through April 15.
According to Barnwell, anyone affiliated with the University is encouraged to apply, and 16 of the applicants will be chosen to participate in the academy and learn what it is like to be a police officer.
“Because of the fact that there are some safety concerns involved, we’re only allowing 16,” Barnwell said.
Since a limited number of people are chosen, Barnwell hopes to expand the program and offer it twice each year.
“As interest grows, we’ll definitely offer it throughout the year, at least in the fall and spring,” Barnwell said.
Barnwell said that even after last year’s successful classes in the Citizens’ Police Academy, the program has already been evaluated and tweaked for this year.
“Based on our evaluations, in areas where people seemed to be bored we’re going to shorten or restructure those, and in areas that people liked we may extend a bit,” Barnwell said.
Officer Steve Carlton of Campus Police also said the department will be changing the some of the sessions that had multiple instructors by either adding or taking away an instructor to make the information seem more interesting.
“The program will always get better as we critique it and take opinions from those in the class,” Barnwell said. “This one should be better than the last one, and we’ll build on it.”
According to Barnwell, Campus Police began this program to give the community a more in-depth look at what police do and why they do it, as well as provide tips that participants can share with their friends and the community.
“It gives a sampling of some of the actions police officers do on a daily basis,” Barnwell said. “In the classes we will do traffic stops, firearms, crime prevention, building searches, investigations, control techniques, an accreditation process and certifications.”
Jessica Stenson, a freshman in animal science, said she thinks the Citizens’ Police Academy is a great opportunity.
“Participating in the program would make the campus a bit safer if the right people signed up and used the information they learned because students would become more aware in bad situations,” Stenson said.
Stenson also agreed that the program should be offered to more people or in multiple semesters if a high amount of interest is shown.
“I’m glad they’re using this as another trial period to see if enough people are interested,” Stenson said. “If a lot of people apply, though, and it is successful, they should extend it.”
Regardless of whether the program will eventually be offered in multiple semesters, Carlton said he hopes the program currently being offered will be able to educate the community.
“One of the things we hope is that it puts people back into the N.C. State community that are familiar with what we do, and we can hopefully count on them to share and get information if we need to,” Carlton said.
