Colo. Police Invite Residents to Step 'Inside' PD

Feb. 12--As many as 30 Broomfield residents will have the opportunity this month to participate in a program designed to give them a better understanding of the inner workings of the Broomfield Police Department.

BPD-Inside Academy, a program developed by Broomfield police to give interested residents a unique view of local policing and how the department works with the community, will host the first of 12 educational sessions on Feb. 22.

The Academy, being overseen by department spokeswoman and public education coordinator Joleen Reefe, will take place over 12 2 1/2 -hour sessions on Wednesday nights at department headquarters. The program is broken down into three four-week blocks focused on different aspects of the department, each designed to stand on its own or to be taken as a whole, Reefe said.

There are two established goals for the Academy, Reefe said: Share experiences and the inner workings of the department with the community, and increase awareness of what residents can do to assist with crime prevention and safety for themselves and their neighborhoods.

The department offered tours of its facilities and other programs similar to the Academy in the past, but saw the need for something more comprehensive, Reefe said. The "trilogy" of four-week blocks that make up the program will begin with a patrol and communications unit Feb. 22 through March 14, followed by a block on investigations, special operations and specialized teams in May and a block on detention, training and emergency management in September and October.

"(We) wanted just to try and put together all of the great information that we have within the department and to offer that ... in kind of more packaged way than the sporadic tours," Reefe said.

Reefe worked with patrol officer Troy Reidel, school resource officer Kent Wichlacz and detention center officer Bernadette Espinosa to plan the program, but stressed that the Academy is and will be a department-wide effort. There will be at least 10 officers working with residents during the first session of the Academy alone, Reefe said.

The first session will take residents on a tour of the department. The second session of the first block will give a day-in-the life look of Broomfield patrol officers, and session three will focus on the department's communication center. Session four, Reefe said, will focus on how residents can help department dispatchers and officers by being good witnesses when the see something suspicious.

"We'll discuss topics specific to crime prevention and each citizen being a crime prevention officer," Reefe said.

Broomfield Police Chief Tom Deland said the department has done a pair of programs like the Academy before -- one several years ago and a more recent one for senior citizens -- both of which were popular.

He said he has noticed an increase in curiosity about police work in recent years, as well as a greater appreciation for that work since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He hopes the Academy will address that curiosity and give participants a greater connection to the department.

"I like the idea that our citizens get to see what we do as a police department and also get to know what the faces behind the badges are all about and get to know our officers," Deland said. "I really like the whole program. I only wish we could do it more often."