Police department leaders canceled one of Salem police’s longest running community engagement programs this spring to reduce overtime costs amid a citywide effort to trim spending. The department announced Monday that its Community Police Academy would be canceled for the year in a Facebook pos t, drawing disappointed reactions. “How unfortunate. This was such good education for the community,” one commenter said. The move will save the department about $20,000, which was used to pay the officers who ran the academy alongside community volunteers, said department spokeswoman Angela Hedrick. In late February, city leaders requested the Salem Police Department to enforce cost reduction measures through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The city is currently facing a $14 million budget deficit and asking voters to approve a property tax levy to help close the gap. City leaders will propose a budget for the upcoming year in April. The department looked to its nonessential overtime work, which includes community engagement initiatives, Hedrick said. Time for officers to attend Salem neighborhood association meetings was also cut. The academy, which is run by volunteers and police, has been around since the mid-1990s and offers the public a chance to learn about police duties like the traffic team, canine unit and crime scene investigation.  “I know that people who participate see the value in it just as much as we do, that they’ve learned a lot, that they appreciated the opportunity to better understand what it takes to investigate a crime scene, or investigate a traffic scene,” Hedrick said.  Ahead of the city’s request to cut costs, the department reduced the academy from a 14-week program to eight weeks and made it once a year rather than twice, according to Hedrick. That decision was made last October. The last academy was held in September. Next year’s budget will be adopted by the Salem City Council in June. That will determine if the department will be able to run the academy again. The department’s annual National Night Out event in August could also be affected by budget restrictions in the next fiscal year, but Hedrick said that hasn’t been discussed yet. “I’m really hoping, fingers crossed and toes crossed that all of this just resets and we’re back to normal,” Hedrick said. Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: madeleine@salemreporter.com. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Salem police cancels community academy for 2025 due to city budget issues appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less