Sheriff hosts citizen’s academy

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office’s will host a spring session of its citizen’s academy.

The spring academy will run from 6 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday starting Jan. 29 and ending on April 2 at the Sheriff’s main building, 2796 Ventura Ave., in Santa Rosa. There will be no class on Feb. 12, Lincoln’s birthday, a county holiday.

The academy provides citizens with an inside look at local law enforcement. The nine-week academy is designed to give citizens an overview of the office, policies and procedures.

During the academy, students will learn about police ethics, communications, crime prevention, criminal law, the correctional system, all of the office’s investigation units including: CSI, Coroner, Violent Crimes, Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault, Narcotics, Intelligence Unit and more.

Academy classes are taught by Sheriff’s Office executives and veteran personnel. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and to express their concerns to Sheriff’s Office employees.

The curriculum and teaching methods are similar to the traditional police academy, but the weekly sessions are not designed to make the participant a deputy sheriff.

Applications must be received by Jan. 10.

Potential candidates for the citizen’s academy must meet the following criteria:

• Minimum age of 18 years;

• Community members must live or work in Sonoma County;

• Pass a basic background check;

• No prior felony convictions ;

• No misdemeanor arrests within the last 12 months.

Applicants will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis and placed on a waiting list once the class becomes full. Enrollment is limited to approximately 25 students.

Applications are available at the Sheriff’s website, sonomasheriff.org or by coming in to the office. Completed applications can be turned into the Sheriff’s Office main building front desk or mailed to the department at 2796 Ventura Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95403, Attn: Citizen’s Academy.

For more information, contact the Sheriff’s Office Crime Prevention Unit at 565-7398.