The Hatboro-Horsham Citizen’s Police Academy begins its 14th year
By Jack Firneno
Wire Editor
Last Wednesday night, Sergeant Pete VanDolsen of the Hatboro Police Department laid out a harsh truth:
“I hate to tell you this, but if you leave your car door open at night and someone steals your Justin Bieber CD and $3.50, we’re not gonna dust for prints.”
Fortunately, the 18 people in a meeting room in the Horsham Township Library in Horsham weren’t crestfallen. It was the kind of thing they were there to learn about.
VanDolsen was speaking at the first class for this year’s Hatboro-Horsham Citizen’s Police Academy. Since 2000, the Hatboro and Horsham police departments have been hosting free 10-week courses, one night a week, for people to learn about the inner workings of a police department.
At the first session last week, this year’s students met each other and the officers, and received an overview of what the police do — and don’t — do.
Police routinely don’t embark on a forensics investigation, for instance, unless the crime is violent, a felony, or otherwise serious, VanDolsen explained. The backlog for analysis at the state level is huge. Unless a perpetrator’s prints or DNA is already on file, it won’t do any good. Pocket change and pop CD’s don’t fit that criteria.
And, over the next nine weeks, this year’s class will get even more up-close looks at how their local law enforcement officials operate. They’ll hear from a homicide detective and watch a SWAT team demonstration, learn though how police handle different kinds traffic stops through dramatized patrols, and even “solve” a crime.
But the class isn’t a one-way street: “It give us a great opportunity to find out more about our residents,” said Lieutenant Jon Clark of the Horsham Police Department before the meeting. “They learn about police work, and we learn what their issues are.”
That relationship is why the police began the citizen’s academy back in 2000. Tropical Storm Allison hit the area hard that year, straining the town’s emergency resources.
“It opened our eyes as a police department that need people’s help when it comes to devastating [weather occurrences],” admitted Clark.
Since then, the academy has been a way for people in the community who are interested in police work to learn more about it — and, even if they can’t be cops, they can still do their part.
“I know they’re feeling good about lending a helping hand — neighbors helping neighbors,” offered Clark.
And to prove it, he pointed to the latest natural disaster: last month’s ice storm, which left many in the area without power for nearly a week. The town had to open an emergency shelter and warming center — an even bigger undertaking than after Hurricane Sandy last year.
Fortunately, the police had some help from, among others, many alumni of the Citizen’s Police Academy.
“Our core volunteers did a wonderful job assisting us. We had up to 100 people in our shelter, and they freed us up to do our job,” said Clark.
One former citizen’s academy member also runs Horsham’s Chief’s Advisory Teams, nicknamed CHATs. During the ice storm, the group used social media to keep people updated on power outages and restoration, and regularly keeps people informed of various happenings around town.
It’s the kind of long-range effort that Clark said makes the time and effort it takes to host the Citizen’s Police Academy worth it.
“It’s very rewarding,” he said. “I’ve been doing police work for going on 40 years and this is the highlight of my career.”
