The Police Departments of Milwaukie, West Linn, Gladstone, Lake Oswego, and Canby offer community members the opportunity to attend a Citizen Police Academy. The academy allows citizens to learn about the variety of duties and responsibilities police officers must perform to protect and serve the public.

The Citizen Police Academy offers insight and understanding as to the mission and services performed by our law enforcement departments and criminal court systems.

Academy trainees will have the opportunity to meet with many of the men and women whom have sworn to protect our communities. Trainees will attend classes taught by representatives from the above listed police departments. Classes include an overview of the criminal justice court system; definitions of various crimes; presentations on police use of force; ethics and hiring process; gang awareness; drug activity; field sobriety tests; canine, bomb squad, SWAT and hostage negotiation overview, among other topics.

Trainees gain insight to the daily decisions officer must make, oftentimes those decisions requiring instantaneous judgment and reaction.

Class sessions offered include simulated ‘shoot-don’t-shoot’ scenarios, and a simulated driving course. Tours of police/fire dispatch, jail, and juvenile reception center are included. All courses are designed to be interesting and informative.

Attendees are selected, and invited to attend the academy by the Chiefs of Police (or assigned designee) from each participating police department. Applicants must meet the following requirements to be considered:

• Must be at least 18 years of age

• A resident of the City of Milwaukie, West Linn, Gladstone, Lake Oswego, or Canby, or work within or own a business in any of those communities

• Must pass a complete background check (includes but may not be limited to criminal history and driving history and status)

• Must be available for all the class sessions

• Must be approved for attendance by your city’s Chief of Police (or assigned designee)

• Must sign a liability waiver

The Citizen Police Academy has a limited size of 20 qualified and accepted applicants.

Attendees are encouraged to ride along with a member of the police department during, or immediately following completion of the Academy.

The Citizen Police Academy will be held evenings and some scheduled Saturdays for 11 weeks. Most classes will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will be two all-day sessions scheduled for two Saturdays. These sessions will present ‘hands-on’ activities.

The location of the classes will change as different aspects of training are explored. Trainees will receive the locations and scheduled dates and times at orientation. Upon completion of the academy, a graduation ceremony will be held acknowledging the time and effort of all the attendees.

Please do not apply unless certain you are capable of attending every class. This program requires a substantial time commitment! Any attendees missing more than 2 classes will not be allowed to continue the program, and will be asked to re-apply for a future academy. (This program is only offered once per year, due to time constraints.)

If you are interested in applying for one of the limited academy spots, fill out and return the Citizen Police Academy application form (Microsoft Word or PDF).

Last updated: 09/26/2008