The goal of the Kingsport Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy is to help build and maintain a strong relationship between the police department and the community it protects and serves.  We envision that graduates will gain a better understanding of the operation of the police department and develop an awareness and appreciation of the various challenges and decisions faced every day by Kingsport police officers.  The Citizens Academy began in 1993, and now dozens of classes later, hundreds of graduates serves as goodwill ambassadors for the department.  Graduates have included mayors, other members of city government, physicians, clergy, teachers, business owners, students interested in a career in law enforcement, family members of police officers, media representatives, retirees, as well as other everyday citizens.

The requirements for admission into the academy are as follows:

• A minimum age of 18
• Must have medical insurance coverage
• A resident of Kingsport
• If not a city resident, place of employment is within the city limits
• Non-city residents will be considered on an individual case-by-case basis dependent upon space availability.
• All applicants must also undergo a background investigation. Any felony convictions and certain misdemeanor convictions will most likely disqualify the applicant.  These also are handled on a case-by-case basis.

The Citizens Academy is free and it is fun.  The Academy will consist of approximately 8 class sessions, for about 2-3 hours each, held over the course of a few weeks.  The class forum involves lecture, demonstrations, audio-visual aids, and most importantly, hands-on participation.  Topics covered include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Welcome, Orientation, Justice Center Tour
• The Police K-9
• Traffic Stops and Building Searches
• Crime Scene Investigations
• The Police Bomb Squad
• Collision and D.U.I. Investigations
• S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics)
• Defensive Tactics and the Use of Force

The Citizens Police Academy will by no means provide you with all of the training necessary to become an actual police officer; however, it will give you a chance to walk a few steps in our shoes and understand what we do and why we do it.  The academy is held once or twice each year.  The specific dates of our next class will be announced via local traditional news media, as well as on social media to include our blog (www.KingsportPDBlog.com), our FaceBook page, and our Twitter feed, when those dates are finalized.  Please do not submit applications until each time a new class is announced.

For additional information concerning the Citizens Police Academy, please contact the Office of the Professional Standards Unit at 423-229-9499.

Click here to download an application.