Portland Citizen Police Academy Graduates 4th Class
The Portland Police Department’s fourth Citizen Police Academy graduated its newest class at the end of June. Although the citizen academy is available for any interested citizen, this particular academy was open to the refugee population of Portland.

Eleven Sudanese and Somalian adult students attended the academy each week for ten weeks to learn the workings of the police department. Classes were held on traffic enforcement, criminal investigations, internal affairs and the police complaint process, evidence collection, hiring and recruitment, and other areas of interest to citizens. Demonstrations with police canine teams, discussions with victim advocates and class with the District Attorney’s office on domestic violence assisted the class members in gaining a more in-depth understanding of the police department’s role in the community.