The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office plans to begin its Tenth Annual Citizens Police Academy in the February 2010. The class will be made up of approximately twenty-five Dawson County citizens. The academy will be an eight-week program meeting each Tuesday night for three hours. At the conclusion of the academy there will be a graduation ceremony held by the sheriff’s office and attended by special guests of both the graduates and the sheriff’s office.

The individuals attending the training will be exposed to a wide variety of law enforcement topics. The different divisions of the sheriff’s office will cover their duties and job functions. Some of these include; the administrative division, professional standards, criminal/civil/traffic law, patrol division, SWAT operations, detention center, communications, criminal investigations, illegal drug use, child abuse, and special programs. The citizens will also be able to ride along with an officer on a shift to experience police work first hand. They will also be able to work a mock murder crime scene set up by the investigations division of the department.

As you can imagine this will be a fun filled eight-week program for both the citizens attending and the sheriff’s office. If you would like to learn more about the program, contact the sheriff’s office at (706) 344-3535.

If you or someone you know has a child in fourth or fifth grade, then here is the program for you. Each year in June the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office conducts a weeklong program for this age group of young people. During this week the children are exposed to every aspect of law enforcement. The cadets will experience classes involving crime scene, S.W.A.T., gun safety with paintball and air soft guns and felony traffic stops.

Many of our officers say that the week of the Junior Academy is the most fun they will have all year. If you are interested in this program, you can learn more by looking under the section entitled “Community Programs” on our web site.