Police invite ministers to third ‘Pastor’s Academy’

Church leaders can be the most influential residents in any community, the elders whom people consult for advice or resolution to controversial problems.

That’s why the Columbus Police Department wants a “strong relationship” with local ministers who can help address neighborhood issues or explain to parishioners how law enforcement works, said police Maj. Wanna Barker-Wright.

Sometimes residents who have a complaint regarding the police don’t take it to the police department, but to their ministers, she said. If those faith leaders have more background in police procedures, they may be able to deal with such issues more effectively, and offer more insight to those they’re trying to help.

So the police department offers a “Pastor’s Academy,” a five-week course for participants who meet 1 to 5 p.m. each Monday at the city’s 510 10th St. Public Safety Center. The department’s now taking applications for the next class, which will start Feb. 27 and end March 27.

Anyone interested may contact Annalisa Shelling by emailing ashelling@columbusga.org or calling 706-225-4132.

The course is free, but those joining it must submit to a background check and sign a liability waiver for some of the activities such as riding along with patrol officers, Shelling said.

The class can accommodate 17, and so far two have signed up, she said. This will be the department’s third Pastor’s Academy, she said.

These are among the topics to be covered, she said:

• Gangs, such as which street gangs are operating in Columbus, how to recognize them and steer youth away.
• Patrol work, which includes the ride-along with an officer to witness the day-to-day challenges of street patrols.
• Investigative services, the detective bureau that probes homicides, robberies, rapes and other assaults, as well as property crimes such as car theft and burglary. This part of the course includes demonstrations such drug-sniffing dogs and how they work.
• Police training, which includes computer-simulated armed-confrontation training in which recruits must make split-second decisions of whether to fire their weapons.
• The 911 center, with a tour of the facility in the Public Safety Center’s basement where dispatchers take calls and send officers to respond.
• Professional standards, once called “internal affairs,” which investigates complaints of officer misconduct. Participants here learn about the department’s complaint process, learning how complaints are filed and investigated.
• Crime prevention, including the department’s DARE or Drug Abuse Resistance Education program and the Neighborhood Watch system of establishing networks with communities to involve residents in protecting their homes.

Shelling said ministers won’t go hungry during each four-hour course, as snacks will be served.

All through the course participants will be invited to ask questions, as time is built into the schedule for them to find out what they really want to know about police procedures.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Police invite ministers to third ‘Pastor’s Academy’."