Cape Girardeau police department offering citizens academy

For the 13th year, Cape Girardeau police officers are opening their doors to the city's residents, offering them a chance to participate in the citizens police academy, a service aimed at helping people better understand issues law enforcement officers face on a daily basis.

The police department will accept up to 25 applicants for the academy, which wasn't held in 2009 because it didn't generate enough interest from the public. This year's academy is scheduled to begin March 4, and will continue each Thursday for the following seven weeks. The classes will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

The community's interest must drive the police academy, said Cape Girardeau officer Ike Hammonds, because the eight-week course is intended to foster a relationship between the police department and the residents they serve.

"It's something that's done at police agencies all over America; they all have their own little twist and spin to their academy," Hammonds said. "It's human nature to fear what we don't understand, but once you have a better understanding you feel it's OK. The academy works for both entities, the citizen and the law-enforcing community."

Academy participants will learn more about the officers protecting the Cape Girardeau community and the services the department offers. They'll meet the department's patrol commander, directors of the Safe Communities Program, crime scene investigators, traffic officers and a number of others.

The presenters keep the course as interactive as possible, Hammonds said.

Traffic officers will show participants copies of summonses and why they ask for information such as a person's Social Security number or place of employment to complete the summons.

Officers will also show how to best fill out a statement form, for individuals who witness or become part of a crime.

"They'll get an idea of how law enforcement in general works and for the most part, we do it like St. Louis and Chicago. We just do it on a much smaller scale," Hammonds said. "We have our own policy and procedures that [are] more or less designed for our department."

In past years, the municipal court prosecuting attorney has been a presenter and explained to academy students the process they may go through if they receive a summons from the court.

"For various offenders, they're cited into court for something as minimal as a traffic offense. If it's their first time, they don't understand when they should show up, to plead guilty or not guilty," Hammonds said.

Prosecutors from Cape Girardeau County have also been presenters in the course, Hammonds said, and with the help of the individuals enrolled in the academy, acted out a scene from a courtroom.

"Whatever it takes to get them educated on how the system works," Hammonds said. "It's hands-on as much as possible."

The academy's most interactive two-hour session involves a trip to the department's shooting range, where the department's SWAT team demonstrates the equipment it uses. The trip typically takes place in the seventh week of the academy. Participants are even allowed to suit up in an officer's gear to experience how warm and heavy it can get if a team member has to be at a scene for an extensive period of time.

"Law enforcement, we're here to serve and protect, so this is a service we're offering to the community," Hammonds said. "We have nothing to hide, so why not educate [the public] as much as we can?"

The police academy caps off with a graduation ceremony, typically at a Cape Girardeau City Council meeting. The mayor presents each of the academy's participants a graduation certificate, Hammonds said.

Hammonds recommends filling out an application for the academy by March 2, because each interested party must undergo a criminal-background check.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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