ROCKLAND, Maine — Residents interested in participating in the first Knox County Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Police Academy are reminded that space is limited and applications should be submitted no later than Sept. 28.
Chief Deputy Tim Carroll said the program, which the department expects to offer each year, is aimed at improving public relations and showing citizens what police work is like.
Participants in the program will attend a three-hour class one night per week for eight weeks beginning on Sept. 30. Applications are available online at knoxso.com/community/cpa or at the sheriff’s office on Park Street in Rockland. Completed applications should be returned to the sheriff’s office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. They will be reviewed, and all attendees will be selected by the sheriff and command staff.
The lead instructor of the academy will be Sgt. Lance Mitchell. Classes will be taught by Knox County deputies. The department also will have guest speakers from the Knox County district attorney’s office, the Knox County Regional Communications Center, the Maine State Marine Patrol and the Maine Warden Service, among other organizations.
The curriculum will cover such areas as history of policing, Maine law, patrol procedures, criminal investigative techniques, evidence recovery, K-9 program, and the drug recognition expert program. Each academy participant also will receive basic hands-on training in arrest control and hand-to-hand combat techniques. Role playing also will be an important component of the program.