What is the Citizen’s Police Academy?

The Citizen’s Police Academy is a twelve week program designed to give participants a working knowledge of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.  It consists of a series of classes and discussions held once a week for approximately two and one half hours plus one Saturday morning.  Participating citizens learn about the criminal justice system, your rights under the law, the juvenile crime situation, demonstration of the K9 Unit, Gangs, Narcotics, and a lot more.  The class is limited to approximately 25 students with no cost to anyone who enrolls in the program.

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Why we have the program?

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is committed to the philosophy of Community Policing and being in partnership with the Community.  The Citizen’s Police Academy will provide a forum to improve the lines of communication between the Sheriff’s Office and the community.  It is our goal that each graduate will a become partner with the Sheriff’s Office and assist us in identifying problems and solutions to quality of life issues that face our community.  Graduates will be able to take their knowledge back into their neighborhoods where they can inform other community members.

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What are the benefits?

Community members will become much more informed on how and why the Sheriff’s Office operates, and examining the culture of police work and the organization.  The Sheriff’s Office and the citizen’s benefit by meeting each other face to face in a friendly setting allowing participants to get to know the person behind the badge while the deputies are exposed to the citizen’s in a non-confrontational, non-threatening environment.  As a result, deputies and citizens foster an improved relationship with increased respect for one another.

 

Requirements:

• Must be at least 18 years of age

• Live or work within Oconee County

• All applicants will be subject to a background check

• All accepted participants are asked to commit to attending at least 10 of the 12 sessions due to popularity of class.