The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up for its fourth annual Citizens’ Academy, a summer-long program intended to teach locals about the inner workings of the agency and provide hands-on experience with law enforcement techniques.“For a lot of citizens, the first interaction and cont act they have with the Sheriff’s Office is when they call us for something,” explained Sgt. Skyler Talbot. “They call us because their vehicle has been burglarized or there’s some other police service that’s needed. That’s the first time, and sometimes the only time, that they have an opportunity to interact with our deputies. The Citizens’ Academy gives us an opportunity to meet with our community and have those conversations outside of the traditional law enforcement environment.”The class will meet for three hours on Tuesday nights once a week from June to August, but the Sheriff’s Office is still working on nailing down the specific start and end dates. There will also be one Saturday session dedicated to emergency vehicle operations.A classroom of Citizens’ Academy students listen to a presentation. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Summit County Sheriff's OfficeOther topics covered throughout the program include SWAT, search and rescue, investigations, patrol and dispatch.Talbot said there will be a mix of classroom presentations taught by experts in specific fields as well as hands-on training.For example, a dispatch supervisor may teach one session in a classroom before transitioning the group to the Summit Communication Center to demonstrate everything learned during the presentation.“We’re going to take you up to our firearms range. We’re going to show you all of the weapons systems that we use, why we use them, all the way down to the laws that we have to follow,” Talbot added. “We’re going to give you a deep dive, and then we’re actually going to let you, if you’re comfortable with it, shoot our weapons systems, all of them. Folks have a rare opportunity to shoot some pretty interesting guns that most citizens will never have the opportunity to shoot.”The Citizens’ Academy will culminate in a “day in the life” as a deputy — the Sheriff’s Office will create a variety of scenarios, place students in a patrol car and ask them to respond to service calls.“They don’t know if they’re going to be responding to a domestic violence scenario. They could be responding to a simple citizen assist scenario, all the way up to a scenario where they’re going to have to make a decision to use force. Use of force is a big thing, and we’re going to put them in a situation where they’ve got to make a decision,” Talbot said. “Is this a situation where I need to use force? Is this a situation where I can use verbal deescalation? That day-in-the-life is going to wrap everything together and give citizens a chance to really feel what it’s like to be a deputy on patrol.”Talbot said the academy is also a good chance for the Sheriff’s Office to engage with the community and receive feedback on its operations.“We want to know. This is what we do and why we do it. What are your thoughts on this? Because it also does give us an opportunity to make sure that we are on track with what our community expects out of us,” he said. “And if there are changes we can make, we’re certainly open to having that conversation.”This year’s class has room for around 30 students, and applications will officially open at the end of April. In the meantime, Talbot said anyone interested in the program can email citizenacademy@summitcountyutah.gov to be added to the communications list.The post Sheriff’s Office to host annual Citizens’ Academy this summer appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less