Most local police departments have some type of Civilian Academy but The Woo is known for having an excellent one. You take the class in the actual classroom that the cadets learn in. The course is Eleven Weeks long and you go through much of the same training new recruits do.
The idea of taking the course is so that you can learn more about policing tactics and investigation. The course includes detailed looks at certain laws as well as a thorough look at crime scene investigation and you get to interact with several officers. We were able to meet and talk with several detectives, five Lieutenants, four Captains as well as the SWAT team and multiple other investigative teams. The Chief was there for the first class to introduce us to the program.
One of the strongest classes was the live interactive shooting simulator which puts you into a situation where you have about 1/10th of a second to make a life or death decision. I was told that one certain anti-police City Councilor came in and used the simulator after complaining that police should either shoot the gun out of someone’s hand or shoot them in the leg. This particular councilor shot 6-8 innocent people during the simulator.
If you’re pro-police (and you can guess where I fall) you’ll enjoy this inside look and if you’re critical of them maybe this will give you an idea of what it’s like to deal with everything they have to deal with.
The course ended for us with a ride-a-long, but I’ll get into that in another post.
It's Andy Fish! 
Leave a comment