East Lansing police are hoping to mirror the outreach successes of some area agencies by starting its own citizens police academy.

Department officials will spend the next 11 weeks training 20 people what it means to be a police officer. This is the first such program for the East Lansing Police Department, which looked to similar programs in Lansing, Meridian Township and across the nation for guidance.

“I was rather excited about it because I’d wanted us to always get involved,” said Sgt. Patricia Nowak, who was selected to run the program as part of the department’s community policing program. Nowak also serves as the city jail administrator.

“We want to open our doors to people who have an interest in the community,” Nowak said. “We want them to know who we are.”

The three-hour classes, held once a week starting Wednesday, will cover areas such as the use of force, criminal investigations and patrol procedures. Most of the teachers for the academy, which is already filled, will come from within the department.

Nowak said the department hopes to hold the special police academy at least once a year.

Meridian Township’s Department of Public Safety has run three academies since its program began in fall 1998. Township police Lt. Tom Couling said the costs of the program are far outweighed by the benefits of citizens learning about how officers do their jobs.

“They’ve indicated they had no idea we were involved with so much or there was so much involved with police work,” Couling said.

The township’s program brings in about 20 people for a nine-week program. The next citizens police academy is scheduled for later this spring.

“It’s an opportunity for us to interact with the public,” Couling said. “It’s a chance to inform them about the way we do things and why we do things.”

The police academies for area residents also give the public a chance to tell police about their concerns or offer suggestions, Lansing police Lt. Ray Hall said.

The Lansing Police Department has held two citizens police academies a year since 1995. The department also started a youth police academy.

“For years law enforcement has really performed their duties more or less behind closed doors,” Hall said. “Now we have an open-door policy.”

But the East Lansing citizens police academy also provides another benefit to the community. Several students in the School of Criminal Justice have signed up for the program.

“It’s certainly not anything that goes as far as a regular police academy, but it’s certainly a good way to learn about the career of law enforcement,” said Tim Homberg, career development coordinator for the School of Criminal Justice. “It’s just a good introduction to the field that you’re not able to get from a class lecture.”

Homberg said such programs provide students an opportunity to build contacts in the law enforcement field for later internships or cadet work.

But more importantly, he said, the citizens police academy can help students decide if they really want to make the effort to enter the field. A real police academy can involve 16 to 20 weeks of rigorous work.

“I don’t want to see someone go into the area and put in the time and commitment it takes and not want to go into that field,” Homberg said.

For more information about Meridian Township’s spring citizens police academy, contact Capt. Dave Hall at 347-5060. More information about East Lansing’s program is available on the city’s Web site, www.ci.east-lansing.mi.us.