Politics & Government

Redlands Police Department Free Citizens Info Academy Begins Aug. 29

Weekly classes are planned 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays from at Plymouth Village, 945 Salem Drive., Aug. 29 through Oct. 10. The classes will be moderated by retired Police Cpl. Rick Strobaugh.

The Redlands Police Department is offering a free Citizens Information Academy that starts Wednesday Aug. 29, a city spokesman said.

The academy's three-hour classes meet one evening a week, Redlands spokesman Carl Baker said. Participants can expect "an overview on the fundamentals of police work, taught by a variety of department employees," Baker said.

"The curriculum and teaching methods are similar to the traditional police academy, but rather than new recruits, the academy's students are citizens, business owners, media representatives and neighborhood watchers," Baker said.

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Course topics include "virtually every aspect of police affairs, ranging from recruitment to undercover operations," Baker said.

The goal of the academy is to "create a growing nucleus of responsible, well-informed citizens with the potential of influencing public opinion with regards to police practice and service," Baker said.

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"Citizens will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the problems facing police officers and the policies of the Redlands Police Department," Baker said.

"Even the most law-abiding, well-informed citizen has only a veiled notion of police affairs," Baker said. "Apathy and misconceptions range from the widely held view that we live in a crime-free environment, and that police traffic patrols exist merely to persecute the unfortunate motorist, to the new police computer systems which are often regarded as a 'big brother' threat to the liberty of the individual."

Weekly classes are planned 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays from at Plymouth Village, 945 Salem Drive, Aug. 29 through Oct. 10, Baker said. The classes will be moderated by retired Police Cpl. Rick Strobaugh.

Applications for the course are available at the Redlands Police Department, 1270 Park Ave. or the Police Annex, 30 Cajon St. For more information, leave a message for Strobaugh at 798-7609 ext. 1 or email  rstrobaugh@redlandspolice.org.


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