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Crime & Safety

First-Ever Citizen Police Academy Offered in Kent

Kent's police department is opening its doors to the public this fall

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a police officer in a university town? What a routine shift entails or how split-second decisions are made in the face of danger?

Up to 25 Kent-area residents can learn the answers to those questions and more by participating in the city’s first-ever Citizen Police Academy, a 12-week program set to launch Aug. 25.

Lt. Paul Canfield, coordinator of the ’s new academy, said the program is designed to foster better community relations through education.

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“(Participants) get an insight into how we do business, how the police department fits into their community and what our actual role is,” Canfield said. “We feel that the police department and police work in general are sometimes misunderstood, and we would like to better educate key members of the public."

Police Chief Michelle Lee said she is excited about the first citizen's academy in Kent as it gives her department an opportunity "to showcase its personnel, expertise and dedication to Kent and its citizens."

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"I feel that the police department has made progress in the last few years on gaining more trust and understanding of how and why officers perform their duties," Lee said. "The Citizen Police Academy is one more tool in bridging that gap between community and police by improving communication and partnerships with the people we protect and serve."

The academy is free for participants, as funding comes courtesy of a U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance grant the department received last year.

Lee said she credits now-retired Chief James Peach and City Manager David Ruller, who "got the ball rolling (last year). This has really turned out to be a city project and not just a police project."

"The initial ideas, topics and layout of the academy were hammered out at a staff meeting with my top administrators," Lee said. "Paul Canfield then put it all together and organized the academy outline into a working project."

Classes will be held at 6 p.m. Thursdays starting Aug. 25 at the police department. There will be at least one “field trip” to the department’s firing range, and each participant will have the opportunity to do a “ride-along” with an officer.

The academy will feature a variety of instructors, all of whom are Kent police officers. Topics to be covered during the 12-week program will include criminal law, investigations, K9 operations, traffic and related offenses, specialties within law enforcement (such as task forces), police use of force, community policing and crime prevention.

“We wrote the curriculum based on the types of crimes that we deal with here,” Canfield said. “People will get to see a lot of different parts of what law enforcement entails.”

Those applying don't necessarily have to be supporters of the police department.

“We’d like to hear from folks who don’t quite see things the way we do (because) we’d like to improve how we’re perceived in the community. You can’t always see our viewpoint unless you’ve stood where we’ve stood,” Canfield said.

Applicants must be at least 18 and a Kent-area resident without any felony convictions, any misdemeanor convictions within the past two years or any pending misdemeanor charges.

Anyone currently trying to get hired as a police officer in Kent or other jurisdictions will be excluded, Canfield said.

He hopes to get a minimum of six participants for the first-ever academy. If more than the maximum of 25 people apply, their names will be placed on a waiting list for the department’s second academy to be held next spring.

Canfield said the department benefits when citizens gain a better understanding of what police can and can’t do – and when the department receives feedback “on how we’re doing and what we can improve upon.”

For more information, email Canfield at canfield@kent-ohio.org or call him during regular business hours weekdays at 330-676-7505.

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