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VCSO Begins Citizens Law Enforcement Academy

Valley County’s first-ever Citizens Law Enforcement Academy held its first of eight classes this past Thursday in the community room of the courthouse.

Seventeen residents of Valley County attended the inaugural session and Sheriff Tom Boyer said he feels encouraged and excited about the interest in this program.

“The Citizens Law Enforcement Academy is just an opportunity for the citizens in the community to come in and get a better picture – a broader scope – of what law enforcement does.”

Boyer hopes the newly implemented program will give the citizens of Valley County an opportunity to understand what law enforcement work consists of and what happens behind the scenes. The sheriff noted that a large swath of people have never interacted with law enforcement officials in their active capacity. He sees this course as a form of transparency into the role of law enforcement in the county.

The first class of the academy – Introduction, Information and Waivers – was held Feb. 25. Boyer was impressed by the number and range of students who attended as well as the topic.

With the focus on the history of law enforcement in America, the class covered the constitution, the Montana Code Annotated and the state constitution, highlighting how those social contracts give authority to law enforcement officials to carry out the duties assigned to them by law.

Russell and Brianna Leader both signed up for the course and attended the first night. “We both felt that the first class was very informative and learned a lot. They took a dive into the history of where law enforcement came from and the core values of their work,” R. Leader told the Courier. “We got a tour of the sheriff’s office building, which at one time was the old jail. We met a few key people that will be playing a role in the eight week program.”

Already County Attorney Dylan Jensen and Glasgow Police Chief Robert Webber have made appearances and answered questions for participants. Boyer said his more tenured staff will be presenting at future classes and Kimberlee Martens, the Valley County Dispatch and Detention Supervisor, will be speaking on the roles her departments play within the larger sphere.

Next week’s course will continue to discuss basic law within the bounds of the constitution and the court system, as well as the civil service. Week three will introduce participants to local communications, the detention center and victim advocacy.

Sheriff Boyer says that while it is not his primary goal of the course, the CLEA is a useful tool for him to gauge interest in a Reserve Deputy program. Re-instituting the reserve program remains a goal for the Sheriff. He welcomes graduates of the program to apply after completing the Academy.

R. Leader said, “I have always been interested in law enforcement. And while I would never want to be a police officer, I feel it is an interesting field that I wanted to know more about.”

B. Leader clarified her reasons for signing up. “I decided to go through the program because I wanted to understand on a deeper level what it is our local enforcement do. I wanted to know their goals and ideas for our community and how best to support them as a resident.”

While Boyer may not yet have found persons for a reserve deputy program, he highlighted the importance of the course on its own. Seeing courses in other counties across the state and the nation with a renewed interest in community policing, he saw a need to provide the same to the residents of Valley County.

He also noted that he intends to keep the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy going for as long as he can.

“As I looked at [implementing CLEA in Valley County] I just thought that’s something we should do here. We should put out that opportunity for people to have access to that.”

 

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