In an effort to teach the community about how law enforcement works and what the public can do to help get criminals off the street, the Tellico Plains Police Department will be holding a Citizens Police Academy starting in December.

"The Sweetwater Police Department has been very successful with their citizen academies, so there is interest in such a thing," Tellico Plains Police Chief Bill Isbell said. "We're wanting to bring it to this end of the county, but anybody who's interested is welcome to sign up."
The academy will start on Dec. 1 and be held on 11 Tuesdays, though there will be a break over the holidays.

"We will have the classes on Dec. 1, 8 and 15," Isbell said, "then break for the holidays and pick them up again in January."
The sessions will cover everything from Internet crimes against children to patrol tactics, criminal investigations and tours of the 911 Center and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

"We really want to stress drug investigations," Isbell said. "The drug trade is becoming dangerous for everyone, even if you're not involved in it. We had to have a mobile home hauled out of town the other day because the making of meth in had made it unlivable. It was right in the middle of a neighborhood.

"If people know how to look for such things," Isbell added, "then maybe we can catch it before someone gets hurt or someone loses a house, like the owner of this place did."
The classes will start at 6 p.m. and run for two hours, with the exception of the firearms training, which will be held on a Saturday. Law enforcement will teach all the classes, but the class is not designed to make anyone a certified police officer.

In order to be eligible for the academy, you must be 18 years of age, submit to a background check, have no felony convictions and have any arrest records evaluated, though minor traffic violations are excluded. For more information, call the Tellico Police Department at 253-2030 or visit the department above City Hall.
"There's nothing but upside to this," Isbell said. "The public will get to meet our officers and we'll get to meet the community. It's a win-win situation."

michael.thomason@advocateanddemocrat.com | 442-4575