February 9, 2011
An arresting curriculum: UW Police offer Citizens Academy
The UW Police would like to see you down at the station, please.
That is to say, the UWPD will hold its annual Citizens Academy on Wednesday afternoons from March 30 through June 1. They invite members of the UW community to sign up, come down and learn about how the police do the tough jobs they do every day.
Officer P. Gilbert, UW Police Department master defensive tactics instructor, right, and Officer T. Warwick, go through moves during the 2010 UWPD Citizens Academy. | Photo by Mary Levin.
This years Citizens Academy will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. each Wednesday from March 30 to June 1 in Room 203A of the Fishery Sciences Building, across the street from the UWPDs station, at 1117 NE Boat Street. The class is free and open to all UW faculty, staff, students and members of the public who are 18 and older. The deadline to sign up is March 25.
Organizing the course are UWPD officers W. Bresko and T. Van Leuven. The 10-week course will cover many aspects of community and campus policing, including arrest, search and seizure policies; patrol procedures, defensive tactics, lethal and nonlethal weapons, and high-risk police stops.
There will also be sessions on crime prevention strategies, traffic enforcement, domestic violence and how and when force is used in a police encounter. Oh, and a session on how they use their K-9 patrol dog, which is a favorite for many.
To apply, you can either request an application via e-mail from the UWPD by writing to Crime Prevention officers Van Leuven at tvlpd@uw.edu or Bresko at wbresko@uw.edu. Or you can download the application online. E-mail is preferred, but you could also call them at 206-543-9338.
Asked the benefit to those who go through the UWPD Citizens Academy, the officers replied in a statement that participants are given “an in-depth, personal view of the unique criminal and societal challenges” police officers face today.
“Ultimately, this generations police force must be equipped to understand criminal and civil law to perform their field work and administrative report writing,” they wrote. “In addition, they are regularly faced with making decisions many dont have to make in their personal lives such as attempting to get a homeless at-risk teen in the Roots Shelter before closing at 9 p.m., whether or not social services is the best choice for a child living in poor conditions or linking the victim of domestic violence with emergency shelter right now to be safe from harm.
“In recent years, the community has been more engaged in wanting to learn about us and we them. Policing today requires our community understand police procedures and we understand the needs of the community. We use this information to constantly improve our services. The UWPD Citizens Academy is the greatest opportunity for that.”
The Citizens Academy is not related to employment with the UWPD. Students have the possibility of earning credit through independent study for attending the academy. The UWPD will screen all applicants and reserves the right to refuse any candidate. Learn more about the UWPD and its work at its website.
- The UWPD will hold a rape aggression defense class for six Thursday afternoon sessions from Feb. 17, to March 24 at the UW Tower. To register, call 206-616-0873 or e-mail uwpolice@uw.edu.
- The UWPD will be among the agencies participating in the Serve and Protect Career Fair, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the Mary Gates Commons.
