Applications for the 23rd Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Police Academy class are now officially open. The Citizen’s Police Academy is a 10-week course designed to give residents a working knowledge of law-enforcement policies and tactics. Bergen County residents 18 and older are eligible to participate.

“Fostering and maintaining strong relationships within Bergen County’s 70 diverse municipalities is an essential component of law enforcement. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Police Academy gives residents firsthand knowledge of the essential work police do while bridging ties between the community and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff Anthony Cureton.

BCSO’s Citizen’s Police Academy is designed to education participants on the functions of the Sheriff’s Office and the role the agency plays in Bergen County. The academy is offered in a classroom-style format with demonstrations of equipment and tactics used by law enforcement.

Participants learn about the tools officers use in a broad range of areas including motor vehicle stops, medical operations, disaster preparedness, homicide investigations, K-9 patrol and detection, fire safety and crime scene analysis. The class will also receive tours of the Bergen County Jail, the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI).

The next Citizen’s Police Academy class is slated to begin on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at 7 p.m. at the Bergen County Jail located at 160 So. River Street, Hackensack. Class meets once a week at various locations around the county and concludes with a graduation ceremony.

The deadline to register is Friday, March 1, 2019. Please visit our website at https://www.bcsd.us//wp-content/uploads/images/pdf/CPAApplication.pdf to download the application.

For more information, please contact the Community Policing Unit at 201-336-3540.