CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Police Department is accepting applications for a program that prepares residents for public safety volunteering opportunities.
Citizens Safety Academy — a new, 10-week course beginning 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 — features veteran police officers and CPD executives teaching firearm safety, emergency aid and investigative techniques. The Crestview Fire Department also will participate.
Instructors will provide insight into police work, but the academy will not train reserve police officers.
The academy closes with a Dec. 2 graduation ceremony; those who complete 90 percent of the curriculum receive a certificate of completion. Graduates with 100 percent attendance receive the certificate and an award of excellence signed by Police Chief Tony Taylor.
Participants who successfully complete the course can join the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, which provides volunteer support for the department. Graduates can provide an “extra set of eyes” for officers and help conduct department fundraisers, Officer Wanda Hulion said.
Taylor selects each student through an application process. Applicants must be at least 17 years old and live or work in the Crestview area. Residents with felony convictions or misdemeanor convictions within one year may not apply.
Want to go?
What: Citizens Safety Academy
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30.
Where: Warriors Hall Auditorium in the George H. Whitehurst Municipal building on Stillwell Boulevard.
NOTE: Applications are available at the Crestview Police Department, 201 Stillwell Blvd. The department is open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
CONTACT: Officers Wanda Hulion or Sam Kimmons, hulionw@crestviewpd.org or kimmonss@crestviewpd.org
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview PD accepting applicants for Citizens Safety Academy