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At Citizen’s Police Academy, learning is a two-way street

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Farmington Police Department’s Citizen’s Police Academy graduated 18 residents Wednesday evening. Left to right is Detective Darin Gilbert, Todd Demons, Tyler Gray, Drew Holston, Brooklyn Brown, Austin Marden, Elaine Marden, Matthew Smith, Wendi Smith, Dennis O’Neal, Tracy Dawes, Linda Blodgette, Sue Brown, Cody Robinson, Les Brown and Shawn Durrell. Not pictured is Ian Mikrut Danielle-Jean Sinclair and Evan Abbott.

FARMINGTON – A revitalized Citizen’s Police Academy sponsored by the Farmington Police Department graduated 18 local-area residents this week, with officers and guest speakers offering some insight into their day-to-day work in the community.

The program had been held in the past, Chief Jack Peck said, but was eventually abandoned due to lack of interest. It was rebuilt by Detective Darin Gilbert, who approached Peck with a proposal to teach the nine-week program. Every officer participated, Peck said, with special guests including corrections officers from Franklin County Detention Center, dispatchers from Franklin County Communications Center, specialists from Evergreen Behavioral Services and Safe Voices and probation officers. Sgt. Scott Dalton of the Maine State Police brought his K-9 dog for a demonstration.

Peck said the course ran a minimum of three hours each week. It began with an overview of the FPD application process for new hires, including psychological and physical fitness tests, and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. The course focused on criminal and civil law, traffic stops and computer crimes, as well as scam awareness. Participants learned how officers deal with situations involving domestic violence, operating under the influence of alcohol or mental health issues.

Both the department and the community benefits, Peck said: officers get feedback from community members about what expectations they have for the department, while the participants learn about the daily work of the officers.

“It’s usually an eyeopener,” Peck said, “learning what’s really happening on a day-to-day basis, what decisions [the officers] have to make.”

Peck said that the department intends to hold the academy this fall if there is sufficient interest. Feedback from the 18 participants seemed to indicate there would be interest; Peck said many of the graduates said they would recommend the academy to friends and family.

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3 Comments

  1. I am glad to hear that Darin Gilbert is doing a good job again with the Academy. It is nice to learn that they had a good turn out for the classes. Keep up the good work Darin

  2. My husband and I went to the classes and they were great. Darin did a great job getting it together. Everyone that he had come in were wonderful. besides explaining what they do they all were nice about answering any questions we had. I was good to see the police somewhere other than through your car window. On the nights the chief was very good also. We got to see how the police are in their regular lives.
    Thank you Darin and all of the other people that helped us.

  3. Growing up, my Dad, brother, and three cousins were Police Officers in Franklin County. In this day and age, our law enforcement officials are dealing with far more serious illegal offenses that occur on a daily basis and they don’t get the respect they deserve. They are viewed as the “Bad Guys”, just for doing their jobs, up-holding the law and protecting our rights. The Citizens’s Police Academy should he held in every town (hint…hint….Wilton!) to educate the public. I will definitely be signing for the next class!

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