Sheriff’s Academy invites participants for March 27 start

Sheriff John D’Agostini and members of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department would like to invite the people of El Dorado County to the upcoming El Dorado County Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy.

This Academy will familiarize El Dorado County residents with many aspects of law enforcement and the role the Sheriff’s Office plays in our community.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department has instituted the concepts of Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving, (COPPS). The goal of the COPPS program is to create and maintain a line of communication with the residents and to involve the community in some of the decisions regarding law enforcement.

By attending the academy, residents will develop a better understanding of the guidelines under which an officer functions and why officers handle situations the way they do. Also discussed is the role of the sheriff and how the department and members of the community can come together to address serious crime and social issues.

A few examples of the Citizen’s Academy course content include community relations, as well as dynamic looks into our patrol functions, K-9 program, gangs, narcotics, laws pertaining to probable cause and search and seizure, traffic laws, criminal investigation, crime scene investigation, and the use of force, tools and options.

Academy participants will also perform an actual vehicle stop and experience what a patrol deputy gets to experience on a daily basis. There will also be classes on cold case homicide investigation as well as a class on neighborhood watch and victim prevention.

In order to receive the full value of this academy and to be able to observe procedures firsthand, the academy includes a four-hour block in which each class member is assigned to ride along with a patrol deputy while he or she works their beat.

The academy is offered periodically and is 15 weeks long. The classes run one night per week, (typically on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m..) the classes will be held in the Sheriff’s Department’s Office of Emergency Services, (OES) classroom. The Citizen’s Academy is offered on a first-come first-serve basis and is free of charge. Due to the academy filling up so quickly, we have had to establish a waiting list, so don’t delay in signing up.

The next Citizen’s Academy is scheduled to start March 27 and run until
June 26.

This program has been very well received and enjoyed by all who have participated in the past. If you are interested in attending, please go onto the El Dorado County sheriff’s Website at edso.org and click on the Citizen’s Academy link. There you can download and fill out the academy application. If you have any further questions, please contact CSO Jenine Sokolay at 530-642-4703 or detective Jeff Leikauf at 530-642-4720.