Sunday, June 08, 2008
Citizen support for city police
From the RoundTable blog
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Debbie Kavanaugh
Kavanaugh lives in Roanoke. She is the corresponding secretary for the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association.
When Police Chief Joe Gaskins came to Roanoke in 1998, he brought the concept of the Citizen Police Academy with him. This academy is a free, 12-week course in which citizens who live and work in the Roanoke Valley can become familiar with the day-to-day operations of the Roanoke Police Department. It is taught twice a year, and Citizen Academy No. 20 graduated on May 28.
All instructors are committed, professional, energetic and enthusiastic about talking to the citizens. The citizens finish this course understanding more about why police officers are trained to do and say certain things, and even why officers stand in a certain position.
It is from this class that the Professional Standards Unit recruits citizens to serve on the Disciplinary Review Board to hear complaints against the police department. These citizens are not hand-picked by the police department. They volunteer their time to serve our community in this task that is sometimes unpleasant but still necessary and important. The review process is structured so that these citizens render their opinions without being influenced by the police department's command staff.
In January 2005, the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association was founded with the mission to support the police department. The association wanted to bring together graduates of the citizen academy in order to promote and improve community relations and crime prevention awareness. The alumni association is made up of men and women, ranging in ages from early 30s to late 70s. Some are single and others are married with children. Most members work full time in banks, businesses, health care, sales and schools and other government agencies, while some are retired.
Under Lt. Rick Morrison's careful guidance, the alumni began to train for tasks approved by the police department. He trained us to perform property checks and assessments. Officer Bryan Lawrence trained us to change the batteries in Project Lifesaver equipment and to put together child ID kits.
Other alumni activities include:
n Handing out literature against drunken driving at DUI checkpoints.
n. Helping with the Memory Ride to benefit Project Lifesaver.
n Supporting the deparment at community events such as Citizens Appreciation Day, Crime Prevention Day and various neighborhood and store events.
n Helping with the Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Special Olympics and the Virginia Police Chief's CYCLE Program.
n Ushering at police department events such as the recruits' graduation.
n. Assisting the academy recruits with the Blue Santa project.
n Phone and reception duties as needed for headquarters and the police academy.
n Helping with Oktoberfest to benefit Crime Line.
n Assisting as needed with the Citizen Police Academy classes.
n Role playing with the academy recruits and the Tactical Response Team.
n Helping to clean the Fallen Officers Memorial.
n Sponsoring an annual Officers Appreciation Dinner.
In between these activities, the officers continue to tell us stories of their experiences and give us a chance to comment and ask questions. Our citizen classes gave us insight into the operations of the police department, and these officers earned our respect and admiration. As members of the alumni association, we continue to find new reasons to admire and respect these officers with each and every opportunity that we get to interact with them.
The alumni association has grown from 13 charter members to almost 30 active members. It is a testament to this police department that its members can take this demographically average group of citizens, with no prior law enforcement training other than the citizen academy, and inspire us to become such an active service organization.
Sometimes, we try to thank the police department for all the opportunities they have given us to grow, learn and serve our community. Everyone from Gaskins and his command staff to the officers on the streets shake their heads at this. They tell us that the police department receives the benefit of all of the alumni's volunteered hours. They say that it is the police department that appreciates the efforts of the alumni. They tell us how proud they are of the alumni association.
So let us tell you here, in this public forum, that the alumni association is very proud and very appreciative of this police department. Also, we ask that everyone please join us with prayers for Officer Bryan Lawrence's full recovery.
