23 Graduate from Inaugural Alexandria Police Teen Citizen’s Academy
Alexandria, La. (July 18, 2019) — “Pomp and Circumstance” didn’t play as students took their seats for the Alexandria Police Department’s Teen Citizen’s Academy graduation Wednesday afternoon at the Public Safety Complex on Bolton Avenue. There were no robes, and no long-sought academic degree was conferred. But officials hope the lessons learned by the first graduating class of the teen academy will be just as life-changing and long lasting as an academic degree.
“What I really hope they grasp is police officers have many roles. I hope this opened their eyes to what we do and what we don’t do,” explained Sergeant Toby Briggs, a 23-year veteran officer who led the program. “We want them to see what happens when they make good choices, and show them that when they make bad choices, this is what you might encounter. It lets them see for themselves what goes on behind the lines of law enforcement.”
While the Alexandria Police Department regularly conducts two Citizen’s Academy programs for adults each year, this was the first time a teen academy has been offered. “We didn’t know what to expect,” said Alexandria Police Chief Jerrod King. King and Briggs were both surprised by the high number of applications they received.
The adult version of the program typically attracts 10-15 participants, Briggs said. For the teen academy, they quickly passed that mark. “We got to 25 and had to cut it off,” Briggs said. “We turned away four or five people because we felt it would be too many to handle.”
King said the program will continue in the future and could possibly grow. “We’ll definitely continue to do the teen academy. I’d like to see us do two sessions in the summer,” King said. Briggs agreed adding, “It tells me kids are eager to learn about law enforcement and the police department. Ninety percent of the kids were always on time and they asked good questions and participated.”
King was quick to credit the student involvement to the way Briggs put together the course, customizing it for the teens. “Sergeant Briggs has done a phenomenal job,” King said. “He has taken a task and really transformed it into something special.”
The academy was designed to be a 5-day program running July 8-12. Hurricane Barry altered the schedule, forcing postponement of the final day and graduation to July 17.
Briggs said classes were held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day and were divided into blocks focused on different aspects of police department operations. The first day students met the main police officials and toured the Public Safety facility. Programs covered during the academy include juvenile law, internet safety, use of force, an introduction to the Police Academy staff, patrol division, traffic division, opioid awareness, SWAT, K-9, police firing range, criminal investigations and community policing.
There was also a hands-on session dealing with impairment from drugs or alcohol use. Briggs said students put on special “impairment goggles” that simulate the effects of excessive drug and alcohol use. “Most of the kids hit the chairs when they were walking around with the glasses, so they got a good idea of how it affects you,” Briggs said.
Another hands-on session involved First Aid and CPR training taught by Acadian Ambulance personnel. Briggs said students were shown how to treat injuries such as bleeding and do CPR. “They could have family members have a heart attack, or a brother or sister who gets injured. This is something we have not done before, but we’ll be adding it in for the adult classes as well,” he said.
King and Briggs agreed that the way police officers are often portrayed in movies and on TV as well as social media, programs like the teen academy are important to help build better understanding and relationships with community members.
“There is a lot of material teens see that isn’t what police officers really do. Think about it – what was the last movie you saw where law enforcement is shown in a positive light? This program gives a counter action to those influences,” King said.
“Most of the time people see us we’re writing tickets or arresting someone,” King added. “Most people don’t deal with police when things are going good in their lives.” Programs like the Teen Citizen’s Academy and the Citizen’s Academy for adults provide opportunities for people to see the other side of officers and of police work.
King said his hope is the programs will help foster better understanding between citizens and law enforcement in the future. “My hope is when one of these kids is out on the street and hears someone say ‘I hate the police,’ they will step up and say that’s not what they are about.”
Alexandria Mayor Jeff Hall has made educational programs a priority in his administration. “Bridging these gaps and building relationships goes along with the Mayor’s plans to emphasize education,” King said. “Mayor Hall hits it on the head when he says education early on will have the biggest impact on crime in the future.”
Branden Wiley, 15, a student at the Louisiana School for the Agricultural Sciences in Bunkie, said he enrolled in the program because, “I wanted to see what was really going on.” He said the K9 demonstration was his favorite part of the program and that he was surprised how much training candidates go through to become police officers. “I had no idea the number of weeks they spend in the Academy,” he said. “It’s 17 weeks.”
CaRon Burgess, a student at Pineville Junior High, agreed the program offered a good opportunity to see first-hand what law enforcement officials do. And the program increased his interest in possibly becoming a police officer. “That’s my backup plan if I don’t make the NFL or NBA,” he said.
Briggs said roughly half of the class expressed an interest in becoming a police officer or first responder. “At this age, they don’t always want other people to know that they are interested, but I had several kids ask me questions on the side. They were clearly interested.”
Contact:
Jim Smilie
Communications
318.449.5038
318.730.1683
jim.smilie@cityofalex.com
