This citizen's police academy, like many, includes a ride along if the participant chooses to do so. Everything we participate in is voluntary. You can choose to do the ride along or you can pass. Why anyone would pass on an opportunity to do a ride along if attending the academy is beyond me though. If you chose to attend the citizen's academy that generally means you have some interest in law enforcement whether it be a future career, wanting to know more about law enforcement involvement in your community, or in my case - work requested I do a ride along (because I do stress tests on police officers/sheriffs deputies/state troopers/etc) plus I have a general curiosity from having friends who are police officers and/or sheriff's deputies. If you have an opportunity to do a ride along I would recommend doing it. It's your best opportunity to see first hand what an officer does on a day to day basis and ask questions!
Some people fear safety is a concern. Sure, safety is a concern. There are no guarantees in life. Being a law enforcement officer is a dangerous job and you take on a certain level of risk when you sign up to do a ride along with an officer but I can say I have always felt safe on a ride along and won't hesitate to do another one when the opportunity comes up.
Every ride along starts with instructions from the officer regarding what you can and can't do. You have plenty of opportunity to ask questions as needed.
I have completed one ride along with Raytown Police Department. (You can do a ride along with RPD even if you are not attending their citizen's academy. Click here for the form.) I won't post anything specific about my ride along (it was pretty quiet) other than to say... the patrol car survived (ie., no fire this time like one of my ride alongs with a different department ended), I didn't learn what the back seat of the car feels like nor experience the view and I have yet to wear these:
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