Last Call for Kent Citizen Police Academy Applicants

Time is running out to apply for the ’s second , a free 11-week program that gives participants an insider’s look at department operations.

Application deadline for the program is Jan. 26. Kent Patch has simplified the process of obtaining and necessary release forms by including them with this article as printable pdfs.

The grant-funded academy features a variety of instructors, all of whom are Kent Police employees. Topics covered 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.

There will be 10 weeks of classes held at the police department from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays starting Feb. 2. One of those classes is a “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’s 11th week is a closing banquet.

Police Lt. Paul Canfield, academy coordinator, said feedback from members of last fall was “great.”

“All the attendees were very positive about the experience and said they learned a lot about the difference between what really goes on and what you see on TV. People gained a new appreciation for what the police department actually does,” Canfield said.

There were benefits for the police department, too. “It certainly gave us a better perspective on how the public views us. It was a chance for officers to meet people from the public and understand where some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings (about the department) come from,” Canfield explained.

Kent Patch blogger wrote about several sessions of the academy on his blog, which .

The owner of in Kent said he would recommend the program to anyone with an interest in knowing “more of what goes on with the police, which is a hidden part of the community.”

“I think it’s very beneficial to understand the intricacies of their jobs. Most of us think of them as writing traffic tickets … and don’t understand how much information management the police do. That’s a majority of the job,” Thurman explained.

One of Thurman’s favorite sessions was a behind-the-scenes look at the role of dispatchers.

“They’re so important to the police. Probably one of the most interesting things was seeing the dependency officers have on the dispatchers, who are handling and processing critical information in real-time,” Thurman said.

Fellow academy graduate Linda UmBayemake said she also recommends the program as it builds community relations by “showing what they do – not what people think they do. It lets the citizens know police are people too. Sometimes they make a mistake, but that is part of the human experience. The majority have the best interests of the community at heart, and we should have their back.”

UmBayemake is still bummed she missed the K9 presentation and the shooting range field trip due to illness. “I did like the drug squad, that’s my name for them ... But it also made me want to help get dealers off the street – they are so bold now, dealing in the open public,” she said.

Like many academy graduates, UmBayemake has a lasting impression of the police department’s physical facility.

“Our officers in blue need a building fit for all the work they do for this community. The one they have to work in is an embarrassment and should be a crime,” she said. “All the building that is being done in Kent should be re-directed to a new police department.”

Academy 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.

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