WADESBORO- The Anson County Sheriff’s Department is encouraging residents to apply for the Citizen’s Academy, which is a program designed to expose participants to the day to day law enforcement work of both the Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Justice System in general.
The Citizens Academy consists of various sessions that extend over a seven-week period. Classes meet each Thursday from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Law enforcement agencies at both the federal, such as the FBI, and local level use Citizen Academies and similar programs to give civilians an inside look at law enforcement and build trust for them within the community.
“It’s to bring citizens from the community and show them different aspects of law enforcement, like how we investigate cases and different agencies we work with,” explained Lt. Brian Tice, who helps organize the program.
The program will feature guest speakers who talk about their careers in law enforcement. “This could include somebody from the FBI who gives a talk about terrorism or somebody from the Secret Service who speaks about details they’ve done guarding the President or other important figures. Then, we get down to your state law enforcement, which may be the State Bureau of Investigation or the Highway Patrol. And then local law enforcement,” said Tice.
A swat team will come in and do a demonstration as part of the program. Firearm instructors from the Sheriff’s Office will also take students out to the firing range and they will get to see different weapons the deputies use as well as get the opportunity to shoot some of the weapons as well. “We try to make it half interactive/ half classroom. It’s not just sitting there at a desk listening to people talk. You’ll get lectures and people talking about the organization and hands-on education,” said Tice.
“We have Karen Baucom of the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition who comes in and gives information regarding her agency. In a new twist, we’re actually putting in a role-play for the domestic violence presentation this year,” said Tice. As part of this role-playing exercise, the students will get a chance to see the different types of domestic violence situations. “A lot of times when an officer responds to a domestic violence call, it’s not cut-and-dry. We want to show different aspects where they get to investigate,” explained Tice.
The Citizen Academy also features a mock-crime scene for participants to investigate. “I guess that now we’re in the world of all the crime shows, CSI and all that. Participants in the program get to sit down and try to take what they see on TV and see how things work in reality. They get to process a crime scene and interview witnesses,” said Tice.
Former Sheriff Tommy Allen began the program in the early 2000s. “I’ve been involved with it ever since it started,” said Tice, who added, “I was the Narcotics Investigator when it first began so I had to do a presentation. I wasn’t part of the preparation and registration and all that.”
This is the second year for the Citizen’s Academy under Sheriff Landric Reid. “Sheriff Reid is big on community and having community involvement through the sheriff’s office. Due to timing, when he first took over in 2014, it wasn’t a good time to bring it back,” explained Tice.
The current deadline to register for the program March 13. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, in good health, and be able to pass a criminal background check. “Last year we had a very diverse crowd. We had individuals from ages 18 – 65. We had a mixture of male and female as well as different races and ethnic backgrounds,” said Tice.
“This citizen’s academy is important now with all the things going on nationally in the news involving law enforcement. It’s trying to inform the community about why we do what we do and help them get a better understanding of what our job is,” said Tice.
Leave a Reply