BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield Police Department opens there doors to the community in their Community Police Academy. They teach residents who are interested in the force, the ins-and-outs to being an officer.
Bakersfield police department offers a civilian police academy course for residents who are interested in joining the force. This course prepares them for the academy to see if this is something they really want to do.
The Community Police Academy is a weekly course that invites community members in to learn about everything it takes to becoming an officer. Allowing residents to receive hands on experience on how to protect and serve their community.
Eric Celedon Bakersfield Police Sergeant said "First and foremost we give them direct access to the officers who are policing them, I believe that alone is a huge value. They will receive classes on search and seizures and defensive tactics. Being able to use our brand new state of the art simulator system. Along with using all the tools we use to keep our community safe."
More than half of the students in the class are either in the process of joining the academy or interested in the force. This course allows them to get their foot in the door and see what the career takes.
Nancy Rachal Student said "I believe it is very helpful because a lot of things I didn’t know thoroughly they helped explain it, and walked me through it. I believe the a lot of people should come out and give it a try, whether they pursue the career or not. This course gives you a better understand on how police officers can interact with the community."
Sergeant Celedon said "Statistically at the police department, we see that overwhelmingly members of our public who interact with us directly, see us in a more favorable light. It gives them a chance to actually see us for who we really are. Being able to bring the community into our house, the house where we actually train our police officers. It gives us the opportunity to build that trust with our community, which at the end of the day makes us a safer community."
This course doesn’t give you a direct spot in the academy but it does prepare you on what to expect. Detective Dean Barthelmes tells me this class can also open many doors in the department besides becoming an officer.
Dean Barthelmes Bakersfield Police Detective said "Well it’s not just if you want to become a police officer. If you want to join the police department in another capacity being a records clerk, or citizen volunteer. This is good to educate anybody in the community who has questions or is unsure what officers do in their daily job. You can get a better understanding of when and how police officers can use force. It gives them a better understanding of what the job of being a police officer really is.
Community members participate in a 10 week course. After the course they graduate and either get a choice between becoming a BPD volunteer or can take the next steps to joining the academy.
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