LPD Accepting Applications for Citizens Police Academy

Here's an announcement from the :

The Livermore Police Department is now accepting applications for the 21st Citizen Police Academy. The Academy will begin February 8, and run through May 23. The graduation ceremony will be on May 25th. The class sessions are held every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Livermore Police Department. There will be one day-long session held on a Saturday or Sunday during the Academy.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, live or work in the City of Livermore, not have any prior felony convictions, and not have any misdemeanor convictions within the last three years. There are no physical requirements and no fees for participants. Those accepted to the Academy will be expected to attend all sessions, and wear an Academy uniform polo shirt provided by the Department.

The Citizen Police Academy is a program designed to orient community members about the various roles within the Police Department, introduce them to the law enforcement community, and give them an inside look at how the department operates on a daily basis. Participants will be presented with a variety of topics, including patrol operations, communications, evidence collection, hiring and recruitment, traffic, animal control, laws of arrest, search and seizure, investigations, crime analysis, terrorism, and many others.

Each session will be taught by a member of the Livermore Police Department who has expertise in the topic. A tour of the police facility is included in the first session.

In addition to the Wednesday evening sessions, participants will be scheduled for a ride-a-long with an officer on patrol. Participants will also be scheduled to sit with a 9-1-1 dispatcher and listen in as calls for service are answered and dispatched. The all-day session will be on a Saturday or Sunday, and will include time on the firing range. Participants will get to shoot a variety of weapons deployed by patrol and SWAT team members. The SWAT team and K-9 program will also put on extensive demonstrations, and participants will do role-playing in simulations to see what officers might experience during a critical incident.

Anyone interested in attending this session of the Citizen Police Academy must complete an application by Jan. 23. Applications may be obtained online from the Community section of the department’s website, the front counter at the Livermore Police Department, or by contacting Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher Lesli Prado (Academy Coordinator) at (925) 371-4936 or via email lprado@ci.livermore.ca.us.

Each Academy is limited to 30 students. The department puts on two Academies per year, spring and fall. Over 500 community members have attended the Academy during the past 10 years.