On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department announced that it’s now accepting applications for the Fall 2019 Sheriff’s Citizen Academy.

According to a press release, “The Sheriff’s Citizen Academy will present a wide range of topical training subjects condensed from the standard training curriculum of sheriff’s deputies.  By presenting this program, we hope to provide a broad educational experience which will acquaint attending citizens with the mission of sheriff’s personnel and the requirements of law to which officers must conform while carrying out their prescribed duties.”

Participants in the Sheriff’s Citizen Academy, the department hopes, will be able to reach more informed judgments about the Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement activities after learning the ins and outs of the department’s operations.  In addition, department officials say, the officers in the Sheriff’s Department will likewise become “more aware of the feelings and concerns of the community, as expressed by attending citizens.”

One purpose of the course is so officers and citizens can get together and drill down on the “traditional suspicions and misconceptions” that are sometimes held by citizens and by sheriff’s deputies.  One goal is that, through open and honest discussion, “a more harmonious climate for relationships may be established.”

The Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy, which begins on Thursday, Sept. 5, will consist of two months of sessions that meet once a week on Thursday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.

There will also be four Saturday “labs” addressing various topics.

The classes will be held at First Baptist Church at 405 N. Main St, High in Point in the church’s classroom area. The Saturday labs will be held at various locations to be announced.

Those interested can download an application, schedule, and a listing of the topics to be covered in the academy curriculum from the department’s website at www.guilfordcountysheriff.com.  They can also reach the department’s Community Resource Unit for an application, or to ask questions, by calling Master Corporal J.A. Page at (336) 641-3378 or sending an email to jpage0@guilfordcountync.gov.