Last night (1/16/13) was the first night of the Raytown Police Departments Citizen's Academy. I was mistaken when I mentioned in yesterday's blog entry that it is their first one. They actually have had a Citizen's Police Academy in the past but it has been several years ago. Their goal is to get enough interest to hold a Citizen's Police Academy 2 times per year. They were very excited about it. It's nice to see energy in something!
I don't understand why all Law Enforcement Agencies don't hold a Citizen's Police Academy. It is a great way to meet the community that they are sworn to protect and serve. Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets are great for getting information out there but if you truly want to connect with the community I still believe that good old fashion face to face communication is the best. You know what happened last night at the first night of the Citizen's Police Academy? People asked questions! and they got answers! Real communication happened!
Civilian Marilyn Flemming is the Community Service Unit Coordinator. She kicked off the night by providing the agenda, making introductions and informing everyone what to expect over the next 8 weeks. She runs a tight ship and kept the class moving on time!
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| Chief James Lynch |
Next up was Chief James Lynch. He actually went around the room and introduced himself to everyone and made a point to shake hands and say thank you for attending. He talked about the history of the Raytown Police Department. I won't blog about all the details like I did in the previous academy I attended but I did learn something new. Chief Lynch is elected not appointed. I thought only Sheriff's were elected but apparently some cities elect their Chief. It has to do with being a Fourth Class City in Missouri. I am not entirely sure what that means so I will have to look that up. Chief Lynch provided a brief explanation about what it means to be a Fourth Class City but I didn't take notes and don't recall enough to fully explain it here. It's always nice to learn something new!
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| Major Ted Bowman |
Lastly but not least... Major Ted Bowman discussed Rank Structures, Policies, Rules and General Criminal Justice Process. They follow a paramilitary system. It was interesting to learn about Department Organizational Structure and how the Incident Command System works within the organizational structure. Formal rank vs. operational rank, operations commander vs. incident commander, etc. I won't even begin to try to explain it. If you want to learn more... attend a Citizen's Academy! :)
Next week Patrol will be discussed.
I am catching up on your posts about the Academy, from here in NZ. I am a bit late because he had Little 'Un pass over then Christmas then new kittens BUT now I am going to catch up with your posts.
ReplyDeleteThis really does look like as inspired and exciting idea. Real communication and understanding - a mutual exchange if information and understanding between 'civilians' and Law Enforcement.