Policing and Protecting Police academy gives citizens a look into department’s work

Policing and Protecting

Police academy gives citizens a look into department’s work

By Bre Offenberger

Photos courtesy of John League

A group photo is taken after a class session where participants completed live fire on a shooting range.

For 12 weeks every year, those in and around Dublin can learn firsthand about the inner workings of the city’s police department.

Now in its ninth year, the Dublin Citizens’ Police Academy offers insights into how a police department is run and what it takes to protect a city. Citizens in the academy cover a range of topics, from criminal investigations to arrest proceedings and community involvement in department practices and policies.

This year’s academy, the first since 2019 after the pandemic caused a cancelation in 2020, runs for three hours every Wednesday from Aug. 25 to Nov. 10 and boasts a class ready to learn more about improving the relationship between the city and its protectors.

To graduate, participants can’t miss more than a few classes, John League, a member of the academy’s second graduating class, says. Academy students don’t just get a firsthand look into Dublin’s police department though. After graduating, any participant can become a community service officer.

Community service officers are volunteers who act alongside and assist Dublin Police Department officers. They are provided with cars to patrol throughout Dublin and can request a police officer if they spot something concerning. Community service offers also conduct Dublin residents’ vacation home inspections and perform tasks such as getting keys out of locked cars. Community service officers do not wear a police uniform nor are they allowed to carry weapons.

“They serve as an additional eyes and ears to the police department,” League says.

After retiring, League took an interest in the academy and in becoming a community service officer as he searched for something to do with his new free time.

“My wife said, ‘You’re a type A personality. What are you going to do? You can’t sit around the house all day,’” League says.

While League ultimately decided not to become a community service officer, he has remained involved with Dublin police in other capacities. He now serves on the board of trustees for the Dublin Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni Association and is a volunteer photographer for the citizens’ academy.

Even if graduates don’t wish to become community service officers, the class forms strong bonds that don’t end with the final class. The academy alumni association was formed in 2012 after the first class graduated, and it’s open to all graduates.

League, who serves as treasurer of the alumni association, says the 501(c)(3) nonprofit was created to enhance the connection between academy alumni, the police department and the rest of the Dublin community.

The alumni association has contributed by coordinating restaurants to donate meals for the 12 nights of academy classes, helping with events like National Police Week, holding a parents’ night out for police personnel and donating other resources to the department such as a shoe shine kit.

There is a fee to be a member of the alumni association. However, most of the funding is provided through donations.

League says that participating with the association allows him to feel a higher sense of purpose.

“It’s just giving back to the police and communities,” League says. “For most of us, that’s why we do it.”

Though registration for this year’s academy is closed, the police department typically posts a call for academy sign-ups in the spring. The academy is open to both residents and non-residents. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and complete a criminal background check.

Bre Offenberger is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

The police K-9, one of the most popular parts of the academy, goes around the room during the drug search session.