Class gives Villa Park residents police officers’ perspective
Kelly Davis was in for a surprise when she enrolled in Villa Park’s Citizen Police Academy.
During one of the academy’s sessions, the class was taught how to do a routine traffic stop. She figured it was just as simple as it looked: Walk up to the car and ask for the driver’s license and car registration.
She quickly found out it wasn’t that simple.
When the officers, who were playing citizens, pretended to act like cocky, unwilling or even suspicious drivers, she learned how an ordinary stop could escalate quickly into an aggressive situation. Needless to say, she, along with her entire class, didn’t do very well.
“It opened your eyes to what’s going on around you,” she said.
It’s these situations that helped Davis realize what it’s like to live a day in the life of an officer. The department is now in the midst of another Citizen Police Academy course to teach others what goes through officers’ heads.
The current session of the academy continues through March 22 at the department. Academy participants must be older than 21 years old, either live or own a business in the village, and submit an application to the department.
More than 25 people have signed up to learn the protocol officers follow in different situations, said officer Bill Lyons, who has helped teach the class for the past three years. The department provides people with hands-on experiences, such as conducting a mock search and seizure, shooting firearms at a range and taking fingerprints at a crime scene. Citizens also visit the coroner’s office and a dispatch site to see who officers communicate with frequently.
Another exercise at the academy forces participants to make instant decisions in situations that officers often come across, such as deciding whether to arrest someone or how to handle a domestic abuse case, Lyons said. Officers play residents and allow participants to make the calls in the mock situations.
The citizen academy was created more than 10 years ago to help foster a better relationship between the community and police department. Other municipalities, like Aurora and Warrenville, host these types of academies, too.
Lyons said all of the officers volunteer with the hope that the citizens will leave with a better understanding of what police in their village take on every day.
“We might deal with 5 percent of the population 95 percent of the time and that other percentage doesn’t see us or hear us. They may see a (squad) car go down the block,” he said.
He added that the academy allows the public to see what they do every day and interact with officers in a positive situation.
Davis said she looks at police officers in a new light after attending the academy. She learned about drug and gang issues in the area, and even how the dispatch center answers calls.
“I have seen what they do. I have a lot more respect for them,” she said.
For information, visit InVillaPark.com.