Fayetteville’s police and fire departments are fighting crime and fire with teaching and training.
Constantly seeking innovative ways to improve public safety, the city offers its Police Department Citizens and Police Department Youth Citizens academies and the FFD Fire Training Facility.
The regionally accessible fire training facility will not only enhance the skills of firemen, it is expected to help improve the city’s Insurance Service Office rating, which would have the effect of lowering insurance rates.
The two police academies provide opportunities for understanding between the FPD and the public, forging a connection between citizens and the city’s law enforcement.
The Fire Training Facility was funded with $600,000 worth of grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters grant program and a 10 percent match by the city. Manufacturing was completed by the American Fire Training Centers and the modular facility was completed in April 2017.
At six stories, the facility offers a safe and secure environment for the region’s firefighters to practice skills including confined space operations, forcible entry, rope rescue, high-rise firefighting and roof ventilation. Three burn rooms and a flashover simulator allow firemen to practice fire suppression techniques, and the department can also use artificial smoke to create a low-visibility environment in which firemen can refine search skills.
The FPD staff has conducted its Citizens Police Academy since 2005, providing participants 20 hours of law enforcement familiarization. Classes cover topics including budget and finance, patrol operations, criminal investigations, criminal law, drug investigations, canine operations and community policing.
Staffing includes a weekly facilitator from the Community Oriented Policing Division.
Ride alongs and a departmental overview and tour are part of the curriculum, which has improved community-police relations — sometimes graduates provide assistance on certain panels and commissions — in a model that has been shared with surrounding police agencies.
Building on the academy’s success, in 2008 the FPD launched the Youth Citizens Police Academy, pairing youth from across northwest Arkansas with police officers in a structured, positive environment. Guided by five school resource officers and a civilian volunteer, the two-week course teaches participants how to write various reports, how to investigate accidents and crime scenes and self defense tactics.
The students are certified in CPR, take part in a number of team building exercises, witness emergency response, firearm and canine demonstrations and tour police and detention facilities.
The FPD partners with the Fayetteville Public Schools to host the sessions each summer, which provides for classroom space and bus transportation when needed. Close to 45 sponsors donate money, food and products that go toward graduation awards and other honors during the session.
Successful completion of the program is recognized with an award, while special recognition goes to one male and one female excelling in the categories of physical fitness, written accident reports, leadership skills and crime scene.
One of Fayetteville’s most popular outreach programs, the Youth Citizens Police Academy has grown from one session for 18 high school and junior high students to three sessions for 88 participants in 2017, and now includes fifth- and sixth-graders. Since the academy’s inception, 359 youth have participated, with some returning to volunteer as youth leaders, some going on to law enforcement careers and at least one serving as a police officer in a nearby community.
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