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The Bartlesville Police Department is now accepting applications from citizens interested in attending the next Citizens Police Academy. Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles said the program gives citizens an opportunity to learn more about law enforcement functions and helps foster better understanding between police and the community.

Roles said The Citizens Police Academy is an 11-week program that will kick off with the first class on Aug. 20. The program will conclude on Oct. 29. All classes will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Bartlesville Police Department, 615 S. Johnstone Ave. Over the course of the program, members will learn about a number of police-related topics, including:

• Overall police department operations

• BPD K-9 program

• The Miranda Warning: How and why it is administered

• Driving while Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol

• Function and operation of the dispatch and detention centers

• Police interactions with the district attorney’s office and judges

• BPD Special Operations Team

• Traffic enforcement, including mock traffic stops

• Use of force issues • Citizen Ride Along program

• Chaplains program • Crime Stoppers program 

Participating citizens will receive approximately 33 hours of classroom instruction by police officers and civilians who supervise or work in each particular division within the police department. Applicants must be at least 18 or older and live or work in the Bartlesville-Dewey area.

A Citizens Police Academy Application form can be obtained on the City’s website, www.cityofbartlesville.org, or at the Police Department. Applications may be emailed to Special Assistant to the Chief Rick Silver at rlsilver@cityofbartlesville.org, dropped off at the Police Administration window located inside the Police Department, or faxed to 918-338-4037, attn. Rick Silver. The deadline to apply for the upcoming session is July 31. Class size is limited to 20. For more information, contact Silver. 

Applicants must pass a background check to the satisfaction of police department administration. Roles said he hopes all citizens will consider submitting an application.