Gig Harbor Citizens Academy returns after 30 years

After nearly three decades without the program, Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey is bringing back the Citizens Academy to educate the public on the daily business at his department.

“This is a great way to bring awareness to the community about what we do,” he said.

The free, six-week, two-nights-a-week course will start in September and give residents a crash course in Gig Harbor police work. Classes will include crime statistics within the city, regular police practices and some hands-on role playing of traffic stops.

“This will help residents see what really goes on during a regular patrol day,” Busey said. “It really is more than just traffic tickets.”

Police volunteer Allen Beck will coordinate the academy.

“Citizens Academy changed my perspective,” Beck said. “It’s part of the reason why I volunteer with my local departments.”

A Citizens Academy class in Livermore, California, sparked Beck’s desire to volunteer. When he moved to Washington he started volunteering with Gig Harbor police and recently brought up the idea of bringing back the academy to Busey.

“Almost every member of the department is going to participate in the class,” he said.

The class will include a simulation in which students act as officers needing to judge the use of force during a dangerous situation.

“It’s an opportunity to understand where we come from in a situation,” Busey said. “It will create a deeper connection between who we are and what the community expects of us, and what the law is.”

The last Citizens Academy was held in Gig Harbor in the 1990s. Then a lack of staff and funding closed the program. The department’s benevolent fund is paying for the revived program, and, if successful, the academy might become a yearly tradition, Busey said.

So far, he said, 14 residents have signed up for the program, which can hold 40 students. Classes will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Sept. 18 through Oct. 18 at the Gig Harbor City Council chambers.

Participants must be 18 and either live or work in the area. They can have no felony or misdemeanor convictions in the past three years. Preference will be given to applicants living in the city.

Anyone interested in joining the class can email Beck at becka@cityofgigharbor.net for more information.