The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Police academy to start in early 2016

A+police+car+sits+inside+the+a+parking+garage+on+May+4%2C+2015.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FSergio+Flores%29
A police car sits inside the a parking garage on May 4, 2015. (The Daily Iowan/Sergio Flores)

Ever wonder what it takes to be a cop? Johnson County agencies are giving the community a chance.

Local police are preparing for the 19th-annual Citizen Police Academy to start Jan. 25, 2016, and take place through April 18. Registration for the course is $25, and applications are currently available on the Iowa City police website.

“It’s simply to enlighten the members of the community what it is law enforcement is about,” said city police Officer R.A. Mebus. “[It will teach] how we do things, why we do things.”

The program consists of 12 weeks of classes and highlights scenarios the police are required to learn when becoming an officer, much like the police academy for prospective police officers.

“People had many questions,” Mebus said about the program, which began in 1998 in Johnson County.

He said the program got its start when the city community outreach officer at the time saw similar courses being taught elsewhere and thought Iowa City should have one, too.

“Everybody thought it would be a pretty good idea,” Mebus said.

Participants in the class will meet every Monday night and will be trained in a variety of hands-on activities. The group also visits the local courthouse, jail, and the University of Iowa police station. Students will also visit the campus recreation center to learn self-defense tactics.

“I encourage anyone to apply,” said Mitch Seymour, a North Liberty police detective and an instructor for the classes. “People always have a pretty positive encounter with the program. They learned what they came to learn.”

North Liberty police joined in teaching the course four or five years ago, Mebus said. Other institutions involved are UI police and the Coralville police.

Mebus said the program has extended from 11 to 12 weeks this year to allow for additional training, which will provide courtroom practice and mock trials. Organizers said the course sequence is received well by those who participate and includes a range of individuals.

“Last year’s academy, we had 16-year-olds and we had 86-year-olds,” Seymour said. “In the last few years, we have some college students and some high-school students who have participated.”

UI student Michael Nardulli believes the program gave him a perspective he wouldn’t have received otherwise.

“I have always had a fascination with the police,” he wrote in an email. “Being able to interact with them in a relaxed and educational environment was cool to me.”

Nardulli said he would highly recommend the course to others and saw a more human aspect to the police through taking it.

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