254 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
254 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
August 1991
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CITIZEN POLICE ACADEMIES
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By
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Martin Alan Greenberg, M.A.
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Professor
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Chairman, Department of Criminal Justice
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Ulster County Community College
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Stone Ridge, New York
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During the past 2 decades, law enforcement has expanded the
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involvement of private citizens in community-based crime
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prevention efforts. The nature of the public's involvement
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depends on the individual department. Usually, local police
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departments center their efforts on one or two programs and
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invite the public to participate. One such program for citizens
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is the citizen police academy.
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Basically, citizen police academies provide a mechanism for
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educating the public about the criminal justice system and the
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ways to resist crime. The overall goals are to gain support for
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police work, explain the operations of police agencies, and
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encourage private citizens to undertake appropriate security
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measures. Typically, police personnel conduct the classes,
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which are coordinated by community relations units.
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This article gives an overview of citizen police academies
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and describes their inherent advantages and disadvantages. It
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then addresses ways to expand the scope of such academies.
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OVERVIEW
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In 1977, the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary designed a
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program to familiarize private citizens with the nature of
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police work and the organization of the police system in the
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United Kingdom. The course, known as the "Police Night
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School," met for 10 consecutive Wednesday evenings and was
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conducted by police personnel on a volunteer basis. The success
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of this program prompted other British police departments to
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imitate it. (1)
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Eight years later, in 1985, the Orlando, Florida, Police
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Department organized the first citizen police academy in the
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United States. Modeled after the British Police Night School,
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the academy convened one evening a week for 10 weeks. Also,
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participants were given an option to complete a short course on
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the use of police sidearms and to ride as observers with
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officers on patrol. (2) Graduates of the citizen police academy
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received a departmental cap, certificate of completion, and a
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commemorative paperweight. (3)
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Other U.S. communities followed Orlando's lead. The
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Missouri City, Texas, Police Department introduced its first
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citizen police academy in 1986. Media announcements attracted
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academy participants, who were screened through background
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checks. This program's success resulted in the expansion of the
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academy to 11 evening sessions and the incorporation of firearms
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practice and safety training as a regular part of the
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curriculum. Several followup activities implemented by the
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police department, such as a quarterly newsletter and special
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invitations to police public relations activities, kept interest
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in the program alive.
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In Commerce City, Colorado, the police department recruited
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participants for its first citizen police academy through
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personal contacts. The curriculum, initially based on the
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regular police academy schedule, was condensed into 11 nightly
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sessions and some weekend activities. The extra sessions were
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devoted to firearms practice and safety training, ride-alongs,
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and the use of department vehicles on the department's driving
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course. From the outset, departmental officials, personnel from
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other criminal justices services, and community members (e.g.,
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news media representatives) served as instructors or special
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guest lecturers. Police department instructors also
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volunteered, but were given compensatory time off for their
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participation.
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ADVANTAGES OF CURRENT PROGRAMS
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The public's involvement in a citizen police academy
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expands community-based crime prevention efforts. Academy
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participants become better prepared to cope with criminal
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incidents, are more willing to report crime, and realize the
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need to testify when they observe a crime. They also gain an
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understanding of police procedures that is more reflective of
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everyday police work than what is portrayed by the media. This
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helps to reduce complaints about routine police matters.
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Participants in academy classes also learn how they can
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help to make their communities crime-free. They become sources
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for new ideas or provide ways to better educate the public. For
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example, a bank executive, who participated in a citizen police
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academy, offered to include crime prevention messages in the
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monthly statements mailed to depositors. (4)
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For police departments, citizen police academies provide an
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avenue to learn about the concerns of community members. These
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academies encourage police interaction with the public, which
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can augment police job satisfaction and provide a measure of
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accountability to the community.
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At the same time, police departments can use a citizen
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police academy to recruit individuals into the profession. They
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can also emphasize specific problems in the course of
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instruction, that is, types of crime that are specific to the
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locale.
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The use of guest instructors from other agencies furthers
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interagency cooperation. In addition, these academies are a
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means to increase morale within a department as a result of the
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internal cooperation necessary for organizing the academy
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program.
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DISADVANTAGES
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While citizen police academies offer several avenues to
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police departments to encourage community support, they also
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have their disadvantages. First, two of the existing programs
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have been designed for suburban communities with relatively low
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populations. Consequently, the programs reach only a small
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number of residents and probably are not suited to urban areas.
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Inherently, some academy instructors could lose sight of
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the goal of citizen police academies. They might overplay the
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public relations aspects and curtail the delivery of more useful
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information about the realities of policing and the ability of
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the criminal justice system to contend with crime.
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At the same time, planning activities for the academy, such
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as preparing curriculum and screening applicants, may detract
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from the time and resources needed for routine police work. In
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addition, local liability considerations may limit or eliminate
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high-interest activities, such as firearms instruction and
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ride-alongs. And while the expenditures needed to maintain a
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citizen police academy are supposedly minimal, instruction may
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be costly if volunteer instructors are unavailable. For
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example, in Commerce City, Colorado, firearms training was
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preceded by a 3-hour orientation class, and individual
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instructors were provided for each student while on the firing
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range.
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Police departments need to maintain citizen interest when
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the academy ends. This is difficult unless followup activities
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are planned. A few months after completing the academy, some
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participants may be disappointed if all they have to show for
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their efforts are a cap or T-shirt, a certificate, and memories.
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Academies could also turn into victims of their own
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success. Participants could become so overzealous in their
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concern for justice that they engage in conduct that undermines
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departmental policies and programs, e.g., establishing a
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vigilante-type neighborhood patrol organization.
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Another area of concern is the number of requests for crime
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prevention speakers and home and business security surveys that
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academy participation may generate. While this is not a
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disadvantage, per se, such requests could over-burden officers
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by increasing their workload.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
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The existing citizen police academies demonstrate a
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willingness on the part of local police departments to share
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information with the general public. However, their efforts
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should merely be considered as a beginning, especially if large
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metropolitan areas adopt this initiative.
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Obviously, achieving the support and cooperation of diverse
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segments of a metropolitan population will require more than an
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annual course for a few hand-picked participants. A better
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approach would be for urban police departments to use their
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resources to train and certify classes of citizen volunteer
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instructors who would then be qualified to offer a series of
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continuous free courses to the public. This would allow for all
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age groups, sooner or later, to learn a variety of self-help
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skills.
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Moreover, since graduates of the certification program are
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expected to become future teachers of citizen police academies,
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concern about followup activities diminishes significantly. And
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if departments want to maintain close supervision of citizen
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instructors, they could include the program as part of a new or
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existing auxiliary or reserve police unit.
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Another recommendation is to apply a much broader term to
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these academies, such as "neighborhood police academy." This
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term emphasizes the importance of people working together for
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the betterment of the community and works to broaden the format
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of the academies. Future participants might be drawn from
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occupations holding peace officer status, such as correctional
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personnel and reserve officers.
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INCREASED SCOPE
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By expanding the role of these police academies, most of
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the current disadvantages would be reduced. For example, newly
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certified citizen instructors would be more motivated to
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concentrate on crime prevention topics and less likely to
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overemphasize public relations. Their services can be used to
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develop new curriculum guides or to expand and revise current
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materials for diverse populations. They could also serve to
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augment the department's personnel resources as crime prevention
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speakers and home security inspectors.
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If made part of a police auxiliary or reserve unit, the
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department maintains the interest of volunteer instructors. In
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turn, upon completion of a certification class, highly qualified
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reservists could increase the availability of firearms
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instructors for one-on-one safety instruction and practice.
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Also, in the event regular patrol officers are unavailable
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to accommodate a citizens' ride-along program, auxiliary or
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reserve officers could be used. Finally, the existence of a
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volunteer police unit that has been thoroughly trained, closely
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guided, and given meaningful assignments would reduce the
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possibility that overzealous course participants might establish
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their own independent vigilante-type patrols.
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CONCLUSION
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As FBI Director William S. Sessions stated, "We need
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citizen involvement more than ever today." (5) Therefore,
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police agencies should not hesitate to enlist the services of
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their law-abiding community members. Without the cooperation of
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victims and witnesses in reporting crime and testifying about
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what they saw, criminals would be virtually held unaccountable
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for their actions.
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Moreover, additional human resources are urgently needed to
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provide educational programs in urban areas (e.g., family abuse
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prevention, etc.). By expanding the current model of citizen
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police academies, departments take one step forward in resolving
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many of the crime problems facing their communities.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) R. Ferguson, "The Citizen Police Academy," FBI Law
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Enforcement Bulletin, vol. 54, No. 9, September 1985, p. 6.
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(2) Ibid.
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(3) Ibid., p.7.
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(4) J. Seelmeyer, "A Citizen's Police Academy," Law and
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Order, vol. 35, No. 12, p. 28.
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(5) W. Sessions, "Directors Message," FBI Law Enforcement
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Bulletin, vol. 57, No. 10, October 1988, p. 1.
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