Working the classroom beat

Marisa O’Neil

There aren’t many things they’d miss a new episode of “CSI” for, but

learning how to dust for prints like they do on the show is one of

them.

Graduates of Newport Beach Police Department’s most recent

citizens’ police academy had to give up their Thursday-night viewings

of the show about police criminalists while enrolled in the 12-week

class, which ended Dec. 9.

But in return, they learned about how their local police

department works from officers themselves, what it feels like to pull

over a driver and even how to fire a service revolver -- along with

some of the techniques used by crime scene investigators.

“I honestly looked forward to it every Thursday,” 29-year-old

Newport Beach resident Amy Roos said.

“And then I’d get home and tell all my friends and family what we

did.”

An up-close look

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa Police departments offer the weekly

classes that make up the citizens’ police academies as a way to get

residents more accustomed to how their local departments work. In the

recent set of classes, about 20 people attended each session. While

those who graduate from the academy don’t qualify to work as a police

officer, they can apply to work as a police volunteer.

Officers volunteer their time to teach classes about everything

from patrol operations to drug enforcement with perks like K-9

demonstrations and visits with the Eagle police helicopter thrown in.

Students even get a rare chance to take a ride along with a patrol

officer.

“I’ve always been interested in police work and always wanted to

go on a ride-along, and this was one of the only ways I could do

one,” said Nancy Kapko, a Costa Mesa mother of three.

“It was fascinating being on a ride-along, seeing how the police

go through their day and how much we as the public don’t realize

what’s going on in that car.... “

Getting a look at what really happens on a patrol officer’s shift

and hearing details from officers in different sections of the

departments helps the average citizen realize things aren’t always

like what they see on television, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve

Shulman, who runs that department’s academy, said.

“Unless people see what we do, they don’t understand why we do

it,” Shulman said. “This class makes it much easier for them to

understand. Rather than use TV as somebody’s perception of what’s

going on, they get to hear it from officers.”

And they learn that police work isn’t always about chasing bank

robbers through darkened alleyways. It’s also dealing with the

day-to-day problems of residents, like barking dogs and family

disputes.

“I was surprised how much effort they put into what you think is a

small issue,” Costa Mesa student Rob Gannon, 35, said. “They really

talked it through. One of the officers told us: ‘If we don’t handle

this now, we could be called out here tomorrow or next week or next

month.’”

Students in Costa Mesa’s 12-week academy got to hear

behind-the-scenes details on a series of related homicides from the

detectives who worked on the case and see actual crime-scene

photographs. A real crime scene investigator let students try to

re-create scenes from photographs and taught them how to dust for

fingerprints. Some also got to shoot a rubber round from a

.40-caliber shotgun at a paper target.

“It was kind of scary, because I wasn’t sure what it was going to

be like,” Kapko said. “But it was kind of exciting.”

In the Newport Beach academy, students shot service revolvers at

targets in the academy’s firing range. That enticed Newport Beach

resident Lewis Wright, 28, and his girlfriend to take the class.

“It was a little bit nerve wracking,” Wright said. “Neither of us

had shot a gun before, but that was one of the things that drew us to

the class: ‘Would you believe they’re going to let us shoot a gun?’ I

don’t think we’ll do it again, but it reduced that paranoia.”

Wright also got a feel for the dangers officers face even on a

routine car stop when he, along with his classmates, got to don a

bulletproof vest and simulate a stop with an actor behind the wheel.

“They walk up to the car and get to interact with the actor,”

Shulman said. “They quickly realize what a trying and frightening

experience it is when you’re walking up to something and have no idea

what you will encounter.”

A way to interact, keep community safe

Throughout the courses, students got to know their fellow

residents as well as their local officers. The classes -- which are

free -- are open to people 21 and older who live or work in each

city.

Newport Beach also offers a citizen’s academy in the summer for

teenagers. Costa Mesa’s Police have so far offered 18 courses -- two

each year. Newport Beach has offered 16, which are paid for with

proceeds from a golf tournament fundraiser.

Costa Mesa mother of two Kim Mayadas said the courses helped

demystify the police department and gave her a greater sense of

security in her neighborhood.

“I want to help take care of it and keep it a desirable place to

live,” she said. “I thought that by taking part [in the classes] it

would help me to be able to be in partnership with the police

department.

“I have more understanding of the workings of the department and

feel like I am more on the same team.”

Each academy wrapped up the most recent courses in December with

full-blown graduation ceremonies, complete with student speakers,

city officials and plenty of refreshments.

*

Newport Beach Police Department’s next Citizen’s Academy will

start in February. For more information, call (949) 644-3662 or go to

https://www.nbpd.org.

For more information about the Costa Mesa Police Department’s

academy, call (714) 754-5208 or go to

https://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/departments/academy.htm.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].