In February I sat down with Fuquay-Varina Police Captain Chris Gathmanto learn about the Citizen’s Police Academy. He was very generous with hist ime, answering all my questions and then some. Gathman has always helped with logistics and now teaches some of the classes as well. We started with how this all began five years ago.
The first Citizen’s Police Academy was held in Fuquay-Varina in 2017. It was the brainchild of the recently retired Chief Laura Fahnestock. Captain Gathman boasted that Chief Fahnestock “took the department to new heights. She improved the culture, the family atmosphere among staff, brought in more training like de-escalation tactics, plus bias and diversity training.”
Since then the Academy has been an annual event. The program lasts ten weeks and covers a wide range of topics. Classes are held once a week in the evening for 2.5 hours. Applicants must be Fuquay-Varina residents or business owners, at least 18 years of age and agree to a background check. The course is free. I was surprised to learn that, over the years, the majority of participants have been women. One notable student was our recently elected Town Commissioner Bryan Haynes.
Subject experts from within the department volunteer to teach. They make an effort to create hands-on and interesting lessons, immersing the students in the work of a police officer as much as possible. Some of the topics covered are internal affairs, professional standards, fraud, domestic and property crimes, firearms, use of force (defensive weapons), the K-9 unit and traffic violations. Citizen-students also get a tour of the facilities and learn about the structure of the department. A favorite class is always when the BATmobile shows up. That is the Breath-Alcohol-Testing mobile unit. Officers provide a demonstration on how the breathalyzer test works.
One goal of the program is to humanize police officers by educating citizens on their day-to-day work. Another goal is to improve the effectiveness of community policing. Captain Gathman emphasized that the best policing happens when officers and citizens work together to find solutions to troubling issues.
A recent example of community policing developed over concerns of loiterers in abandoned homes and buildings. The officers canvassed the neighbors to gather details and hear their concerns. Then they used town and county records to locate the owners of the unoccupied buildings. They were advised to board up the windows and doors to deter teens and others from entering and hanging around. Captain Gathman said that police officers often work with other departments and agencies to solve problems, but that citizens trusting officers with their concerns is the first step to finding a real solution.
I wondered how the Citizen’s Police Academy is advertised. How would diverse citizens hear about it and apply to attend? For the tech savvy it’s easy: notices on the department FaceBook page, the town website, and in the minutes of the Board of Commissioners’ meetings. School Resource Officers inform high school students, and everyone who receives a water bill gets a notice. Captain Gathman acknowledged that it’s often the best informed citizens who attend, and that the department needs to do a better job of outreach to diverse residents. This writer would suggest including a bilingual flier in the water bill, one side in English and the other side in
Spanish. It doesn’t cost any more but it reaches a whole new audience.
Perhaps next year a mini-course could be offered in Spanish! Definitely, some face-to-face outreach in the Black community–in parks, neighborhoods, churches–is needed to overcome the legacy of neglect and abuse that recent years have laid bare in American policing. The Citizen’s Police Academy is an ideal vehicle to build trust in all neighborhoods.
In addition to the Citizen’s Police Academy, the Fuquay-Varina Police Department also offers a Junior Police Academy for 9-14-year-olds. The one-week summer camp includes physical training, motor vehicle stops, the highway patrol aviation unit and K-9 handlers. The very popular Forensics Day, where youth participate in fingerprint dusting for a vehicle break-in, is offered twice in the summer.
Captain Gathman is very proud of his department and his officers. He noted that 19% of sworn officers are women or minorities, which is about on par with other area departments. According to a report from ABC11.com in May 2021, “In Wake, Franklin and Johnston counties, the general population is 60% white, 19% Black, 10% Latino, 6% Asian… However, law enforcement officers across the area are 82% white, 9% Black and 5% Latino–revealing a large gap.”
Gathman states that police candidates are down dramatically due to all the social unrest of the last few years. He hopes that the Citizen’s Police Academy will help to break down barriers, build trust, and showcase the men and women who protect and serve in Fuquay-Varina.
