Neighborhoodtimes: Sign up soon for 8-week Citizen's Police Academy

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By Times Staff Writer
Published December 9, 2007

St. Petersburg

Would you like to find out more about the duties and responsibilities of a police officer?

Would you like to learn how to process forensic evidence at a crime scene? Or participate in a firearms-simulation training exercise? The St. Petersburg Police Department hosts a Citizen's Police Academy at the St. Petersburg Police Department twice a year. It is an eight-week course that meets every Monday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Supervisors, detectives and civilians with expertise in a particular area teach a different topic each week.

There is no cost to participate in the academy, but seating is limited to 30 participants. Students must be 18 years old and pass a background check.

Academy graduates are given an opportunity to ride along with a patrol officer or spend a shift with a communication center dispatcher.

The topics studied include traffic and DUI enforcement, Internet safety, child abductions, police dog demonstrations, use of force, and firearms training/simulations. Students participate in a tactical scenario with the department's Tactical Apprehension and Control Team and get their hands dirty studying forensic science and processing crime scenes.

In the final class, homicide Detective Gary Gibson helps students apply their newly acquired crime scene skills by presenting an in-depth look at some real homicide cases. To learn more, contact Officer Tonia Nave at (727) 893-7128.

Now is the time to sign up for the next course, which begins in March. Go to the Web site www.stpete.org/police to download a registration form. Classes fill up fast, so don't delay.