Citizens Academy gives a peek behind the badge

The Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office's Citizen Academy program, now underway, allows citizens the opportunity to take a peek behind the badge and experience real scenarios, along with real deputy work taught by experts. 10 applicants were chosen to take part in the program.

Photo by Michaele Duke

For ten Williamsburg County citizens, law enforcement school is officially in session. They were chosen out of a pool of applicants for the new eight-week Citizens Academy Program through Williamsburg County Sheriff's office. Classes take place on Tuesdays evenings, and began May 23.

The program is a deep dive into all things law enforcement. "The purpose of the class is to let people see what law enforcement is about. In turn, we hope to gain greater support from the community," says Stephen Gardner who is serving his second term as Sheriff of Williamsburg County. Before becoming Sheriff, he was a State Trooper for 17 years in Williamsburg and Georgetown counties.

Citizen Academy participants learn about the Sheriff's office, and are given an overview of 911 communications and operations with a tour of Williamsburg County Emergency Response Center in Kingstree. They learn how to process crime scenes and how to prevent crime scene contamination.

The Academy also covers gang activity, the K-9 program, domestic violence law awareness, active shooter scenarios, and wraps up with a jail tour and mock trail. The first session covered civil process and warrants, School Resource officers (SROs), and victim services. Students watched video taken from the Cleveland Ohio school shooting.

"These classes help people better identify what we do. The best resource for helping is our people," he says.

"Social media can be so misleading these days when it comes to law enforcement. Television and social media people put their opinions out there, and it really is not that simple," Gardner explains. "You don't get the whole story."

Davion McKnight signed up for the Citizens Academy to learn more about law enforcement. He is a law student at SC State.

"You see things on social media" he says. "You don't know how police made a quick decision to do something a certain way." The Academy examines situations from the law enforcement perspective. McKnight is learning how people can avoid escalating situations or avoid situations all together.

"If you get stopped and you are nervous, you make the officer nervous," he says. Getting to know the officers makes him less nervous about getting pulled over in the future. "I try to tell people don't be nervous and upset when you are pulled over. You were probably pulled over for a reason. Just be cool, calm and collected."

Teresa Brooks is a manager at Burger King in Hemingway. She signed up for the program because she believes the sheriff's department can't be everywhere at once. "When crimes happen, they are not there. They need help from the citizens. We need to know more about what they are doing," she says. Her cousin was shot a few years ago. Law enforcement was on scene and solved the case the same day. "Citizens don't always know this. Officers have a bad name, but they are doing things to solve cases, and they are doing a great job," she says.

"But it takes a village. If you see something, you have to say something."

"We have a diverse group. That's important. We want to get feedback so we know what we are doing good and what we can do better," explains Sheriff Gardner. Current participants range from teens to retirement ages. When they graduate the program, each person will be given a certificate of completion.

The Sheriff's office would like to hold Citizen Academy twice a year. This type of program is not uncommon in large cities, but is new to rural areas. It is a great tool for educating the community and great for recruitment. Participants for Citizens Academy must be 17 years old or older, have no criminal record and be a Williamsburg County Citizen.

For more information about the Williamsburg County Citizens Academy, email [email protected].

For ten Williamsburg County citizens, law enforcement school is officially in session. They were chosen out of a pool of applicants for the new eight-week Citizens Academy Program through Williamsburg County Sheriff's office. Classes take place on Tuesdays evenings, and began May 23. Read moreCitizens Academy gives a peek behind the badge

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