Deputy Matt Roy instructs county resident and Citizens Sheriff Academy participant, Kris Roach, on how to use the laser to determine if a vehicle is speeding. The Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting applicants for the 2023 session of their citizens academy, which begins on Aug. 1. Applications are available at the sheriff’s office website.
Citizens Sheriff Academy Class of 2021 participants Matthew Carter (left) and Bradley DeMent (right) examine body armor during a session of the academy. During the course, participants learn from Sheriff’s Office officials and deputies and cover a wide range of topics related to law enforcement.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is accepting applications for their upcoming Citizens Sheriff Academy, which gives county residents an opportunity to learn about the office in a 10-week course.
The first Citizens Sheriff Academy started in in 2017 and the office reports more than 100 residents have graduated from the program. The office said this week that they are accepting applications through June 30 for this year’s program, which begins on Aug. 1.
Tracy Whited, the Sheriff’s Office’s Director of Public Relations, said Tuesday that the program is the office’s way of teaching the community as well as getting feedback.
“(The goal is to) empower Delaware County residents through knowledge as well as gain insights into how the Sheriff’s Office can better serve its citizens,” Whited said. “It is a two-way learning process whereby we share information about the variety of work performed by the Sheriff’s Office through hands-on activities, ride-alongs, role-playing, and tours. But equally important, we are listening to and learning from our residents about their perceptions, expectations, and needs.”
Whited said the 10 weeks of class contains a variety of lessons and activities including listening to 9-1-1 calls for service; role-playing a potentially dangerous situation to learn “verbal judo” and how Deputies and Corrections Officers de-escalate situations; visiting the jail and learning about the variety of programs it offers to inmates; learning the “tricks-of-the-trade” and how criminal intel analysts and detectives work to solve crimes; learning about the realities of getting drugs out of the community and how the office responds to tips they receive and learning about the process of what a victim must go through when navigating the criminal justice system.
“Eleven weeks is not enough to cover everything, but it provides a good overview into the inner workings of the Sheriff’s Office,” Whited said.
Whited said there are typically 20 community members in a class and said there are no requirements or prerequisites.
“We have no pre-conceived notions,” Whited said. “We actually enjoy the challenge of when we get someone who may not be a huge (law enforcement) supporter. Because we enlighten one another throughout the program, and we eventually win them over by the end of the session! Last year, during our graduation night, a 21-year-old college student said she was blown away by all that she learned, and she wanted all of her friends to go through the program to help them better understand what their local law enforcement does. Because we should all know that what we see or read on our electronic devices and TV isn’t necessarily the entire reality.”
Applications are available at https://sheriff.co.delaware.oh.us/citizens-sheriff-academy/.
Whited said she hopes attendees gain insight into how the office works through the course.
“(We hope they get) a new appreciation of the breadth and depth of what law enforcement does day in and day out as public servants,” Whited said. “By meeting and interacting with our staff, we hope citizens will see how much we care about those we serve and that we want to genuinely help others. We want them to feel empowered and safe and hold us accountable.”
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.
