On March 3rd, the Leland Police Department welcomed nine Leland residents to the Department's third Citizen's Police Academy. The Citizen's Police Academy is an effort by the police department to familiarize citizens with some of the aspects involved with being a police officer, including training in traffic, SWAT, and domestic violence, as well as other job requirements and responsibilities. There are many things that police officers do that the general public may not realize they do, Chief Timothy Jayne told the class in his introduction. He emphasized that this was a good way for individuals not trained as police officer to see that it is more then just patrolling the town and catching criminals or speeders. In fact, being a police officer requires preparation to respond at a seconds notice to situations that may sometimes prove to be serious if not life-threatening, both to victims and officers alike.
This point was reiterated by former graduates of the program who told the new "recruits" that what they learned proved to be invaluable in understanding what officers do, an understanding that created a greater interest in them to work with their Neighborhood Watch Programs and volunteer at the police department. Its with citizen participation that allows us to combat some of the issues of crime and other problems in our community Chief Jayne said.
The program will last approximately 12 weeks and graduation will be in early May with a recognition ceremony at May's Town Council Meeting.
