The Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Cosmopolis Police Departments are inviting our residents to participate in the 2023 West County Police Citizen’s Academy. The Academy will be held every Tuesday night from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm starting January 16th and ending April 16th. In addition to Tuesday evenings, there are tentatively two Saturday classes scheduled. Classes will be held primarily in Hoquiam.

The deadline to apply is December 20th, 2023, however, space is limited. Those interested are encouraged to apply early.

The Citizen’s Academy is a fourteen-week program designed to give the residents of our communities a working knowledge of your Police Departments. Each week different areas of the departments are covered, including:

Patrol Officer Recruitment, hiring and training.
Police Ethics, Citizen Complaints, and internal affairs.
Patrol Operations and procedures. How we respond to calls…routine and emergent.
EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course)
K-9
Traffic Enforcement
Responding to Persons in Crisis
Investigations Division Overview to include discussions on Chile abuse, Gangs, Polygraph
Corrections
The courts…. (Municipal, District, Therapeutic, and Superior)
Special Response Teams (Crisis Response Unit or CRU, Hostage Negotiations, Fatal Accident Investigations Team, Drone teams, Domestic Violence Response Team or DART)
Use of Force and the “Use of Force Continuum.”
Firearms Training (You’ll get a day at the Police Firing Range!)

The instruction is comprehensive, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Instruction consists of lectures, scenarios, demonstrations, and tours. There will be plenty of "hands-on" time for each student. Instructors include Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Cosmopolis Officers and other personnel, who will cover their individual areas of expertise.

During or following the Citizens Academy, you will have the opportunity to ride with an officer for a 3-hour period. This can be scheduled at a time that is convenient for you.

Candidates for the Citizens Academy must fill out an application that can be downloaded at 2024 West County Citizens Academy Application Packet (s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com ) and meet the following criteria:

Minimum age of 18 years old
Live in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, or Cosmopolis
Have no felony record, convictions for misdemeanor crimes of moral turpitude, or domestic violence

The class is limited to 25 students so the sooner you apply the better opportunity you’ll have to be selected.