FLORENCE, Ky. — The Florence Police Department teaches the community how to do its job, sort of.
Once a week, for eight weeks, citizens and officers meet to discuss various topics and techniques used in law enforcement.
“Last week, one of our detectives spoke at the coroner’s office about his case and then the drug investigation. And so tonight we’re doing crime scene and self-defense,” said Patrick Cottingham, a community resource officer with the Florence Police Department.
Cottingham said the course is just a small part of their job and the police academy itself.
From self-defense to crime scene analysis, those who participate in the citizen academy learn what officers do and why they do it, all with the goal of getting involved in the community.
“They can go into the community and be ambassadors,” Cottingham said. “Anything we can do to build that bond with the community and work together is good.”
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Participants told us that this experience has opened their eyes to the reality of law enforcement.
“I already admired the police but I have an even greater appreciation for them and all they do for the community,” said Luciey Cummins, a Citizens Academy participant.
Cottingham said the academy has been successful, noting that several people have become department volunteers or even gone through the real police academy.
He said it has also helped within their own local government.
“We had a new city council member come through the academy, and she got to learn what we do and why we do it, which has really helped the relationship between her and our managers,” Cottingham said.
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The officers say they learn from the academy, too. With participant questions, they get to know what the community wants to see and what they think about certain aspects of the job.
The academy is free for anyone who wants to participate. Their next session will be in the spring and will be posted online and on their Facebook when registration opens.
