City council heard an update on the latest community police academy graduation, with plans to increase attendance next time. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

The Jamestown Police Department’s fourth annual community police academy has recently wrapped up, and Police Chief Scott Forster discussed both this past round, and how to increase attendance for next time, with City Council members.

Seventeen people graduated from the most recent community police academy recently, Forster told members of the council’s Public Safety Committee.

“It was a really good 16 weeks and we got a lot of positive feedback from it,” Forster said. “We’re going to have another one in the spring or maybe a short one in the fall that we will announce on Facebook, so people can find it there for the applications.”

The citizens’ police academy is a 16 week, once a week, class that takes place every Wednesday night for three hours. Forster said officers come in and instruct and give an abbreviated police academy.

“We’re basically just showing the public what we do in law enforcement,” Forster said. “We’ll do a full one again in the spring of 2027 and we’re thinking about doing another one shortened in the fall this year to try and get more people involved in it.”

The academy was discussed again at the full council work session. Once a full schedule for the next time is finalized, Forster said people can find it on social media and the city’s website, along with applications.

Councilman Doug Scotchmer, D-Ward 4, issued a challenge to all other council members in regards to the community police academy.

“Cheif Forster said I was the first city council person to graduate from the citizens’ police academy,” Scotchmer said. “Now, I did not set a high bar … but I’m putting on a challenge that someone else from here, if not all of you, need to go through the academy as well.”

Forster acknowledged that 16 weeks is a long time and the academy is a huge commitment, which is why they are working to get a shorter, more condensed version of it going in the fall.