Dakota County Sheriff’s Office-Citizen Academy

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Academy is an educational and informative program that allows our citizens the opportunity to learn about the issues that face law enforcement efforts in our community. The program will provide insight into the philosophy and operations of the Sheriff’s Office. The program also helps our citizens better understand police work in their community, and develops stronger ties between our community and the Sheriff’s Office.

Community-based policing is an important and vital aspect of crime control in any community. It’s all about the Sheriff’s Office actively working with the community to prevent crime and create a safer environment. The Citizen Academy program is yet another mechanism for law enforcement to inform the public of what they do, improve communication, and obtain citizen input, assistance, and support throughout the community by sharing information.

What is the objective of a Citizen Academy program?

The objective of a Citizen Academy program is not to train individuals to be reserve police officers, but to produce informed citizens. The citizens and Sheriff’s deputies meet each other face-to-face in a neutral, friendly setting, and each becomes a person to the other. In the past, citizens have simply seen a uniform now they have an understanding about the person behind the badge.

What are the goals of a Citizen Academy program?

The goals of a Citizen Academy program can include providing stronger citizen–police relationships, enhancing lines of communication, and the reduction of crime in the community.

As a person on the outside looking in, the role of the police has always been of interest to the average citizen.  In this day and age, the television media and internet media have capitalized upon their curiosity.  Each week, television shows such as Cops, America’s Most Wanted, and even internet website and blogs illustrate real police action into the homes and workspaces of millions of Americans.  Knowing this, numerous law enforcement agencies in Minnesota and across the nation have also benefited from the curiosity that citizens have about the police. These agencies have formed Citizen Academy programs that create an expansion of their community-based policing efforts.
Here are a few of the benefits of a Citizen Academy program:

• Allows the lines of communication between the community and the Sheriff’s Office to open

• Our citizens and deputies have an opportunity to work closely together

• Our citizens gain the ability to make informed decisions regarding controversial issues facing the community, and become aware of problems facing law enforcement

• Our citizen involvement with the Sheriff’s Office is enhanced

• Our citizens gain a better understanding of how our Sheriff’s Office operates