Thursday, December 20, 2012

Citizen's Police Academy - a little more (or less)

The agenda for the 11-week Citizen's Police Academy of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department included:

September 20: Department tour, ID badges, and a presentation by the Administration Bureau
September 27 Operations, Part 1. Patrol, Intelligence, specialty divisions
October 4, Operations, Part 2. Traffic, "Criminal Vehicle", SWAT
October 11, Investigations, Part 1. Investigations, Evidence, Warrants
October 18, Investigations, Part 2. Narcotics, Gang Division
October 25, Corrections, Part 1
November 1, Corrections, Part 2
November 8, Community Relations
November 15, Training, Part 1. State mandates, internship program
November 29, Training, Part 2. Firearms Training Unit
December 6, Graduation

Return of ID Badges is not mentioned... Are all ID badges, even for those who did not complete the Academy, now back in the possession of MCSD?

Numerous items in my FOIA Request were not provided:

The date when the Academy was established;
Copy of announcement to the general public of the Academy
How participants were sought for the academy?
Was enrollment by invitation only?
How many members of the public applied to attend?
How many participants were accepted?
How many members of the public started the academy?
How many members of the public completed the academy?
The names of the members of the public who started the academy and who finished it
Names of presenters or instructors for the academy
Obligations, requirements or duties of graduates of the Academy
Whether participants had access to confidential records of the Department or of any suspects or persons who are or have been incarcerated in the McHenry County Jail
The estimated budget for the Academy
Did participants go to the Sheriff's Department range for training or live-fire demonstrations or shooting (by them)?
Was overtime paid to any MCSD employee for conducting the academy?

Does anyone else wonder why a taxpayer-supported program, conducted on County government property, utilizing County employees was not open to the public and announced to the public, instead of being treated like a private club for a hand-picked group?

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