Comunity Policing

Profile of Community Policing

Dickinson Police Department

Citizen’s Police Academy

Would you like to know what really goes on at the Dickinson Police Department? Would you like to meet the officers and see what they are really like? Do you have questions about what you see and hear that goes on in the community? If your answer is ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you are a candidate for the next Citizen’s Police Academy!

The Citizen Police Academy is a community relations program intended to promote positive interaction between the Dickinson Police Department and the citizens of Dickinson. The program’s concept is simple: “Better understanding through education.”

The course of instruction is presented on Thursdays, 6:30pm to 9:30 p.m., for 15 weeks at the Dickinson Police Department. The curriculum includes such things as: Patrol Procedures, Criminal Law, Crime Scene Investigation, Firearms, Narcotics Enforcement, Crime Prevention, Police Communication, Criminal Records Management, and more. The instructors are Dickinson Police Officers and support personnel with expertise in these areas.

The Citizen Police Academy is designed to be informative. While the Department encourages citizens to become active members of our community, the Citizen Police Academy is not designed to train citizens to become police officers. It is believed that the citizen, upon completing this program, will have a better knowledge and understanding of the Dickinson Police Department: its mission, programs, personnel, and day to day workings. Graduates of this program interested in more involvement with the Department and the community are encouraged to join the Dickinson Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association (DCPAAA).

Applications for admission into the Citizen Police Academy are available throughout the year at the Dickinson Police Department.

For more information call Officer Tony Valdez at the Dickinson Police Department (281) 337-6370 or Officer Walt Candelari (281) 337-4700 ext.347.

The Dickinson Community Policing Division was formed in 1998. The community policing division continues to serve the public by educating the citizens, students and employees of this community. The division implements many different kinds of programs through out the year. The programs are as follows: Citizens Police Academy, Student Police Academy, Citizen Police Update, Stranger Safety/911 for children, Bicycle Rodeos and home inspections to lower your homeowner insurance. The programs are to show and educate the public on how to be safe, prevent crime and understand the working mechanics of their police department.

Community Policing Programs

Citizens Police Academy

Citizens On Patrol

RUOK

Home Security Inspection

The Dickinson Citizens Police Academy (DCPA) was created in 1999. The academy is fifteen (15) weeks long every Thursday night from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm. There are two (2) academies a year. The members hear presentations from the Dickinson Police Officers on Police Ethics, Officer Safety, State and Federal Laws and Criminal Investigation Procedures. The graduating members have the option to join our Dickinson Police Academy Alumni Association (DCPAAA). The DCPAAA is an organization that supports the Dickinson Police Department. The DCPAAA does fund raisers throughout the year to assist the officers with equipment and education. The organization also supports the ongoing education of students as well. The DCPAAA gives several scholarships to students each year and as well as donates to bicycle rodeos and the programs.

The Dickinson Student Police Academy was created in the summer of 2003. The academy is ten (10) weeks long every Tuesday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The cadets are recruited from the Dickinson Independent School District ranging from the ages of fifteen years to eighteen years of age. During the summer the students take field trips to the medical examiners office, tour the Galveston County Jail Facility, train in self-defense with martial arts experts and participate in S.W.A.T. simulations. The program teaches discipline, self esteem, teamwork and leadership. The graduates will have to option to join the DCPAAA as honorary members till they are twenty-one years of age.

The Citizens Police Academy Update is a program to keep the all members who have attended the DCPA continuing knowledge of the programs and resources of Law Enforcement. The program is six (6) weeks long over a period of two (2) months. The attendees hear presentations from agencies like the Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.), Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (A.T.F.), Department of Public Safety (D.P.S.) and Secret Service. The presentations cover things in the field of Internet safety, counterfeiting, forensic art and accident reconstruction.

Dickinson Community Policing also puts on programs for the school district. Some of the programs are 911/Stranger Safety for the children. A cartoon tape of how to use 911 and to stay away from strangers is presented. Coloring books, activity sheets and skits are other ways the division educates the students on how use 911 and beware of strangers is used as well.

The Dickinson Police Department also puts on several bicycle rodeos for children, students and organizations through out the year. The rodeos teach bicycle nomenclature, cycling safety and State and Federal laws to the students. A safety track is set up and all students take several turns going through the obstacles to practice safety and skill drills. Several bicycles and safety equipment is given away at the rodeo to the students to encourage them to continue to have fun in a safe manner.

The Dickinson Police Department has numerous programs and presentations. The department encourages citizens to come together and help solve and overcome obstacles, topics and issues in the city. For more information contact Tony Valdez at 281-337-4700.