If you’ve ever been curious about how to lift a fingerprint, safely initiate a traffic stop or work with a K9 to nab a suspect or find a lost child, the Belmont Police will be offering a Community Police Academy in October.
While the free program at the station gives enrollees a chance to learn how law enforcement works, Belmont Lt. Paul Cowing also hopes it allows for “two-way dialogue,” so officers can learn from their students.
Cowing, who has been on the Belmont force for 18 years, will be managing and teaching some of the classes at the academy, which starts Oct. 13. There is still space in the program, which is open to residents aged 18 and older (as well as students aged 16 and 17 with parental consent) or nonresidents who have strong Belmont ties—for example, town business owners and their employees.
“Participants will get an inside look at department operations, community policing, and public safety procedures,” according to the website.
Cowing said in many towns and cities, these programs are called “citizen” academies. He felt it was very important that the 10-week experience be named the “community” academy, because he hopes enrollees will ask lots of questions and express their opinions.
“My goal is very much to have it driven by the attendees,” said Cowing.
This will be the third time the department has offered the program, and Cowing said town officials and police critics have joined past sessions in order to learn more.
Cowing said the officers ask for student feedback and suggestions for ways to address potentially thorny scenarios.
He said the three main goals of the academy are to communicate how and why the Belmont Police operate the way they do; to encourage two-way communication, “so we can understand what the public needs”; and to orient the police department’s goals and procedures to “make community-first decisions.”
Attendees will get hands-on training as well as an opportunity to listen to officers who are experts in various forms of law enforcement. During the program:
- Belmont detectives discuss how investigations work.
- The K9 unit will conduct demonstrations with Bingo, a comfort dog, and Barron, a patrol dog.
- Cowing, an arson and explosives investigator, will speak to those topics
- Students can try out various equipment and tools.
- Other officials will give talks on various areas of law enforcement, including motor vehicle stops and criminal law and procedures.
- Applying their new knowledge, students act out different scenarios with officials to address and de-escalate difficult situations.
- Attendees can participate in ride-alongs.
- Under strict safety guidelines and supervision, participants may have opportunities to handle unloaded weapons with less-than-lethal impacts, like Tasers.
In addition to responding to criminal activities, police are often on the frontlines of mental health crises. During the community academy, instructors will detail how the community services division uses crisis intervention-trained officers to help divert people—when appropriate—to receive mental health help as an alternative to being processed into the judicial system.
Cowing said the Belmont department’s “co-responder program,” changed how the town responds to certain situations. When needed, a mental health professional joins officers at a scene to help evaluate the incident, provide a more nuanced analysis and possible solution.
“It’s really us showing [residents and others] how we are part of the community,” said Cowing.
For more information visit belmont-ma.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/454
