Why does it take police officers longer to get to one call over another? When is the use of deadly force acceptable? The answers to these questions and many more mysteries of law enforcement can be answered by going through the Chattanooga Police Department’s Citizens’ Police Academy.
Officer Wayne Jefferson, has been with the police department for 15 years, and is currently working in the crime prevention division/community outreach, where he interacts with neighborhood watch groups, the Citizens’ Police Academy, and the explorer program. As the instructor of the eight-week Citizens’ Police Academy, he says this free program is designed to bridge the gap between citizens and the police.
“There are a lot of things that people hear or see on TV that are not true,” Jefferson says. “What we try to do is bring you in and educate you so you will have a little bit better understanding.”
The Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) offered its first CPA in 1999 to 19 people. Eleven years later, more than 350 people have graduated from the CPA. The course is held twice a year, in fall and spring, on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The next CPA began September 6 and allows participants to learn more about the inner-workings of what the CPD does. Currently, 24 citizens have registered for the class, but Jefferson expects this number to grow through the first week of classes. Jefferson’s biggest class was 35, and the last class he graduated was 26.
During the CPA, different professionals at the department lecture and educate participants. The chief of Police comes ine one night to talk on patrol functions and the structure of the department. One night, neighborhood services will talk about code enforcements, especially enforcing code enforcements on houses. The canine unit visits for one of the class field trips in which participants take part in a shoot, don’t shoot scenario and act like officers to solve a crime. With so many different functions of officers, two classes are devoted to having officers from two different parts of the city come in to speak.
Jefferson says the goal is not necessarily how many hours participants log with the program, but how much education they receive. “In the shoot, don’t shoot scenario, the class lasted until 10 p.m., but [participants] had so much fun. I set up different booths and they had to solve domestic violence, deal with an unknown trouble. It just gives you an idea of what we have to deal with on the streets sometimes. It really opened their eyes,” Jefferson says.
Other topics such as use of force, SWAT and EOD, patrol, narcotics and special investigations are covered as well as another field trip to the firing range, where students are taught basic firearms safety. After the program, graduates are asked to take their knowledge and apply it as the eyes and ears of the CPD. “When you come through the Citizens’ Academy, we hope you will have gained a little bit of knowledge to destroy some of the myths about the police department,” Jefferson says.
He says that once citizens graduate the program, he tries to get them to join the Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association (CPAAA) group. The goals of the CPAAA are to improve and strengthen the relationship between the CPD and the communities and educate the communities, thereby creating a safer environment for both the CPD and the citizenry. CPD officers continue to share their knowledge and skills with CPAAA members even after graduation with demonstrations and lectures to further their education.
“The [CPAAA] are our best volunteers in the world. They help us out with in-service when we need people to be suspects and things of that nature, they come in and help our secretary’s file reports…The people who cook for us and things at Riverbend, that’s them,” Jefferson says.
But be forewarned – the CPA is a grown up class, Jefferson says. “It’s for adults, because you will hear some stuff, sometimes…when the gang unit comes in and shows you their stuff it really is something that is for grown-up eyes,” he says. Jefferson says the biggest thing participants of the program should do is be open minded. Although Jefferson says he stays out of the politics, he does answer any questions from participants the first day of class.
“Some of the answers, you may not like, so you have to be open minded about it,” he says. “We really just want to bridge that gap because the police and the community are separated a lot of times. People like us when we show up, but can’t stand us any other time. We want to give citizens more understanding in what is going on behind these glass walls.” Although CPA students re-ceive instruction and training in numerous police-related subjects, the graduates are not prepared for, expected to, nor authorized to conduct any police services. For more information on program, contact Officer Jefferson at Jefferson_wa@chattanooga.gov.