Blue education: Mesquite Citizens Police Academy registering next class
The Mesquite Citizens Police Academy is accepting applications for its upcoming class session.
The academy offers residents a firsthand look at what Mesquite police officers do on a regular basis.
“The goal is to familiarize our citizens with the job we do and what they pay us to do. We want to bring them in so they can see the job we do every day and make them more familiar with it,” said Lt. Brian Parrish, Mesquite PD spokesman. “Through the class, they will understand why we do what we do in certain situations. It’s a really thorough education for them.
Academy classes are held Thursday evenings over a 12-week period beginning Sept. 15. Each class is three-hours and teaches participants about personnel selection and training, the penal code, use-of-force concepts, criminal investigations, crime scene investigation, accident investigation, traffic enforcement, building searches and community services.
“Each night they will go over some section of police work,” Parrish said. “There is also one Saturday they will get to go to the firing range and see a variety of weapons we use.”
Participants re-enact several scenarios during the course, including mock traffic stops and building searches.
“It’s a whole different ball of wax when it’s real,” Parrish said.
Class members must be at least 18 years old, have no felonies and must either live or work in Mesquite. If an individual wants to drive a vehicle during the course, a good driving record will become part of the qualification process.
Fill out an application online atcityofmesquite.com/CitizensPoliceAcademy.
Volunteer opportunities
Upon completion of the 12-week course, many participants chose to join the Mesquite Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, which volunteers to help police throughout the year.
The association began in 1997.
“They do a world of good for us,” Parrish said. “I can’t stress how valuable these volunteers are to the police department.”
One such activity is operating the police department’s plate scan vehicles and Skywatch towers.
The vehicles use cameras to photograph license plates and have recovered numerous stolen vehicles. The Skywatch towers are deployed at strategic locations to give police a bird’s eye view of an area where crime could occur.
Association members also are responsible for operating and coordinating the Child ID programs and entering fingerprints into the database at the police station.
“When we have special events, they will assist with a variety of functions,” Parrish said.
Other duties include acting as an expeditor for police reports and performing cold case follow-ups. Academy graduates are the only residents allowed to do ride-alongs with officers.
Article by Kenny Green of the Mesquite News. facebook.com/MesquiteTXNews
Follow Kenny on Twitter @Kenny_StarLocal