BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- The
Bloomfield Police Department concluded its 5th annual Citizen Police Academy on Tuesday with a special reception and ceremony to thank the participating officers and civilians. What began as a Bloomfield program has now expanded to include officers and civilians from Montclair and Glen Ridge, and this year saw the highest number of participants yet, with 41 students from the three towns, and students at Bloomfield College receiving certificates of completion. This was the third year in a row that Montclair police and civilians participated in this program, and the first in which Glen Ridge did.
The nine-week program was held
every Tuesday night at Glen Ridge High School and covered many important topics
such as Internal Affairs procedures, domestic violence and narcotics
investigation. Essex County Sheriff’s officers brought in a K-9 unit to conduct
a demonstration of several different K-9’s assignments to different details
such as drug sniffing or bomb sniffing. The demonstration covered all areas of
the training process for the K-9 as well as the handler.
“The Bloomfield Citizen Police Academy is a great program that the Bloomfield Township Council and I support and plan to continue for many years. This is a great way to bring the police and civilians together to see each other as partners, and now, also engage more with officers and civilians in our neighboring towns,” said Mayor Michael
Venezia. “Bloomfield, Montclair and Glen Ridge residents see each other
regularly, and building familiarity between Officers and civilians fits
perfectly with Director DeMaio’s vision for community policing, which has been
proven highly successful in reducing crime rates as well as improving the
quality of interactions between civilians and police officers.”
“Every year that we do this program, we add something new that makes it more exciting not just for our academy cadets, but also our officers. Working with Montclair police and civilians the past few years, and now Glen Ridge, has been great for everyone involved, and I want to thank the graduates for giving their time, and the Bloomfield and Montclair police leadership for working with us on this highly successful annual program,” said Director of Public Safety Samuel DeMaio.
“I recommend this program to anyone who is interested in a career in law
enforcement or would like to better understand the day-to-day happenings of the
police department. Programs like this allow the residents and officers to get
to know each other in an informal setting, which has proven, throughout the
country, to be a great crime deterrent and improve police and community
relations.”
Every week during the academy,
students were introduced to guest speakers from local and state police discuss
protocol for various situations. Speakers included domestic violence response
teams, sketch artists, Internal Affairs officers, Cyber Bullying units, and
more. This marked the second consecutive year with record attendance and
graduation rates.
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