The Hollister Police Department will give about 30 residents a
chance to learn how the city’s finest do their jobs. In January,
the police department begin its fifth consecutive year of Citizens
Academies.
The Hollister Police Department will give about 30 residents a chance to learn how the city’s finest do their jobs.
In January, the police department begin its fifth consecutive year of Citizen Academies.
The 12-week course is scheduled to begin Jan. 15, 2003. Classes are held Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Citizens Academy, which began in Hollister in January 1998, is based on a program offered by several cities in Monterey County. It gives residents a hands-on workshop on how the department works and why officers do what they do, and gives them an idea of what it takes to function as a police officer, HPD Capt. Richard Vasquez said.
The department hopes the program will give the public a better awareness and understanding of law enforcement’s role in the community.
“I knew if we put together a great program and they (the students) got to meet our officers in an informal setting that citizens would continue to attend,” Vasquez said.
Although graduates of the course will not become police officers, Vasquez said they tend to develop stronger relationships with the officers and the department in general.
“Many of our graduating have joined the department as volunteers,” he said. “We currently have another program called Volunteers in Policing, which is made up of academy graduates.”
Over the past five years, the department has worked to update and improve the academy’s curriculum.
“We continue to update our class to meet the needs and interest of our students,” Vasquez said. “We continue to strive to make their experience with us fun and exciting. Open communication between the instructors and the students is the key.”
Typically, the Citizens Academy can accommodate about 30 people per class. To qualify, applicants must be at least 21 years old, live or work in San Benito County, have no prior felony convictions and have no misdemeanor arrests within one year of application.
Final selections are made by Police Chief Bill Pierpoint.
Anyone interested in the academy should call the hotline at 638-4117 or pick up an application from the police department, located at 395 Apollo Court off of Fallon Road north of Hollister.
