Registration being held for next free sessions of the popular Sheriff’s Citizens Police Academy, which starts Aug. 27; Call Capt. Charles Borchers at (504) 278-7628 to sign up
A participant in the 2013 class of the Sheriff’s Citizens Police Academy checks out SWAT Team equipment with, at left, Lt. Ray Whitfield and Det. Michael Schiro.
“Our Sheriff’s Citizens Police Academy classes will answer a lot of the questions you may have about law enforcement here and why things are done the way they are,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. Graduates, he said, become “ambassadors for law enforcement because they have a vested interest in what happens in St. Bernard.’’
Call Capt. Charles Borchers at (504) 278-7628 to register. Classes begin Aug. 27 and will meet each Wednesday at 7 p.m. through graduation night on Oct. 29.
Classes will be held in the sheriff’s Training Center on the 2nd-floor in a parish government building at 2118 Jackson Ave. in Chalmette, immediately behind the Parish Courthouse. The Assessor’s Office is in the same building.
Frank discussions about specifics of law enforcement in St. Bernard will be held and participants can ask questions and give their in-put to officers and speakers from various law enforcement agencies.
Also, one component of the academy that is always popular is the irearms simulator which has participants make quick-second decisions on whether they would use lethal force on a ccrimi9nal suspect after watching computerized scenarios on a screen.
Sheriff Pohlmann said anyone who has attended other Sheriff’s Office-sponsored events including the series “Refuse to be a Victim’’ or the National Night Out Against Crime would especially find the Citizens Police Academy to be of interest to them.
Something new being added to the Citizens Police Academy this year is training available in a program the Sheriff’s Office is coordinating called the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. It is similar to the old Civil Defense, which had a long history of training volunteers to help out in local emergencies. Those trained in CERT could supplement first-responders in certain emergency situations.
“The CERT program gives specific training in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations,” said Sheriff Pohlmann.
Borchers, head of Community Relations for the Sheriff’s Office, runs the Citizens Police Academy classes and coordinates Neighborhood Watch programs and the National Night Out Against Crime event for the department.
Anyone who wants to start a neighborhood Watch on their street, hold a Night Out against Crime get-together or apply for the sheriff’s Reserve Division should also call Borchers.
About 650 parish residents have graduated the Sheriff’s Citizens Police Academy in St. Bernard since its inception in 1999. This is the seventh class for the program since Hurricane Katrina and more than 200 have graduated those previous sessions, said Borchers
There are numerous features to the Citizens Police Academy program which participants say they enjoy, such as:
– Hearing from sheriff’s commanders on various phases of law enforcement including patrol work, narcotics enforcement, detective duties, SWAT team demonstrations.
– Receiving boating safety tips.
– Experiencing a firearms simulator program which has participants react to computerized scenarios which ask them to make split-second decisions on whether to shoot a criminal defendant.
– Hands-on demonstrations of equipment including the new sheriff’s high-water truck purchased with a grant and used in rain events, weapons and a robot used for checking suspicious items are also part of the program
– On-site tours of Parish Prison and the new renovated parish Courthouse.
– Lectures from law enforcement agencies from outside St. Bernard
The classes will feature speakers from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and are geared to fostering good relations between the community and law enforcement.
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