Police Department Taking Applications for Citizen's Police Academy

The San Angelo Police Department is taking applications for those interested in attending the Citizen’s Police Academy (CPA).

The five-week long academy begins on Sept. 1 and will meet twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday from 6-9 p.m. Anyone age 18 or over may apply, and applicants must successfully complete a soft background check and may not have been convicted of a Class A misdemeanor or a felony.

“It just basically gives people a working knowledge of what the police department does, how it does things, gives them insights to the different divisions of the police department,” explained Public Information Officer Sergeant Cade Solsbery. “All of the different classes are taught by officers or civilians from those divisions, so they’re actually getting taught by someone that is actually currently doing it or has done it before, worked in those areas.”

The classes, which include a focus on some of the department’s more specialized divisions but also has sessions slated for discussion of community services, have been designed to provide a fairly detailed overview of the department’s operations, while affording participants the opportunity to ask questions.

The first night is typically taught by Police Chief Tim Vasquez and usually includes an overview of the police department and its functions as well as a tour. Other classes center on gang investigations and the PD’s Special Operations Section, while others include speakers from the narcotics and intelligence divisions, records and CSI, to name a few.

“They just like it because they just learn so much that they didn’t know about what we do,” Officer Zach Upton said. “All people know is there’s officers and there’s detectives. They really don’t know the behind-the scenes stuff that goes on.”

In addition to the classes, there are some hands-on portions in which participants learn about the devices officers use and how they train for certain situations.

“They get to do some fun things,” Solsbery said. “They’ll get to use our firearms simulator, which is basically shoot/don’t shoot situations and so they’ll get to see what it’s like to make quick, split-second decisions and see how they’ll react. Then there’s the night at the gun range and the (optional) ride alongs.”

Upon completion of the CPA, graduates can join the Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association, a support group for the department that provides assistance at events and functions and host fundraisers, among other things in order to aid the department. Completion of the CPA is also the first step in volunteering as all volunteers are required to go through the CPA as a condition of employment.

The deadline for applications is Aug. 10 and the course is free and open to the public. Depending on the size of the academy, classes will either be hosted at the police department or at the training academy. The police department will be hosting the CPA on a biannual basis, beginning with the one on Sept. 1 and continuing each January and September thereafter. While the course is limited to 20-25 participants this time, those who are approved but don’t make it in will go to the top of the list for the next academy starting in January.

“Usually we don’t get that high, but I’m anticipating a higher application pool this time just considering everything that happened with Korby, the community’s interest is high, so I would expect probably a few more applicants than normal,” Solsbery said.

Applications may be retrieved from the PD’s Community Services Division, located at 505 S. Chadbourne.