A 7-week-long Citizen’s Academy course is underway at the Morro Bay Police Department, providing community members with an inside look into the department’s operations.
The program will host about 10 residents from across Morro Bay. They meet every Wednesday at the police department for classes.
"I’m really excited about going to the Citizen’s Police Academy. It starts tonight,” said police department volunteer Jacqueline Mauzy.
Participants will have the opportunity to see the internal workings of the department.
“The academy attendees will learn about our detective unit, our patrol operations, how we recruit and hire, how we train," said Morro Bay Police Chief Amy Watkins. "We’ll go over a lot of our special resources like our drone program, our motors program, and they really get an in-depth look at how we do the things that we do and why we do them.”
Academy attendees will also get to meet the department’s facility dog, Rocky, who will serve as a community comfort and therapy dog.
Chief Watkins says she hopes this class serves as a pathway for people to get involved with the department’s volunteer program.
“It gives me self-worth and it makes me feel that I’m part of the community and I just feel that I belong here,” Mauzy said.
Volunteers help police by doing traffic control, entering traffic and administrative citations written by the officers into the department database, various work around the police station, and other tasks depending on their training.
Some volunteers also get hands-on experience with the department's equipment.
“We have a drone that I am learning how to operate to help with the volunteers that operate the drones,” Mauzy said.
Enrollment for this year's Citizen's Academy is closed but residents can check out their website for information on next year's academy. Those interested in the department's volunteer program can call 805-772-6225.
“If anyone is interested, just in maybe the future or discussing our volunteer program, we’re always open. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, we’re always open for that,” Watkins said.
