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Police Department - Citizen Police Academy

The Des Moines Police Department initiated the Citizens Police Academy in 1992 to enhance the relationship between the Police Department and the Community it serves. Since then, dozens of citizens have taken advantage of the opportunity to become more familiar with the operations of the Department and develop a clear understanding of a police officer's duties and responsibilities.

Participants will have the opportunity to experience many aspects of actual police training. The instruction will be given by certified police officers, police supervisor's and civilian instructors who are experts in their fields. Some examples of this training are:

• Community Policing
• K-9 Program
• Domestic Violence / Victim Services
• Crimes Scene Analysis & Investigations
• School Resource Officer's
• Crime Prevention
• Traffic Enforcement and Tactical Operations

The Citizens Police Academy will meet once a week, in the evening, over a period of nine weeks.

Graduates of the Citizen Police Academy are encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences with the community as the opportunity arises. Everyone benefits from enhancing citizen understanding of the role and function of their Police Department.

Staff from the Des Moines Police Department Personnel and Training Section is available to answer questions concerning the application process and enrollment in the Citizen Police Academy. Contact us by calling (515) 323-8350 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or by E-mail.

The forum for the Citizen Police Academy is not designed to stage debate on police department policy, but to inform and answer questions.

If interested in participating in a Citizen Police Academy, the following listed application may be downloaded, completed and mailed to the Des Moines Regional Police Academy.

Note:The links below access documents for specific applications. It will need to be downloaded to your local machine and saved as their respective file type. On the Macintosh, hold down the option key while clicking as save as respective file type, on the PC hold down the shift key while clicking and save as respective file type.

• Academy Application