Challenge Idaho Falls Cop Critics to Attend Citizens Academy
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the newsletter or RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
We apparently have some angst between cops and cop critics lately on some IFz discussions. I do not know if this results from lingering mistrust after the Kimball Mason scandal, or from long-simmering tensions some folks have against law enforcement.
The angst seems to boil down to some people feel there are some bad cops vs. cops who try to emphasize they are human but are doing the best job they can. Do cops make normal human errors or should cops be held to higher standards? Bad apples are statistically guaranteed in any working group, but some folks are concerned the power highs associated with police work breed more bad apples than in average working groups.
I have heard the complaints against our Idaho Falls Police and Bonneville County Sheriff’s department, but I have not heard many solutions so far. We need a police force, so firing them all is not a solution. Rehiring an entirely new department would be pointless because the same issues would reoccur without fixing the root causes.
If you try to weed out the bad apples, how would you do so? Most cops would also love to get rid of their departmental bad apples. How would you objectively identify the lowest-performing cops without hitting cliques and good old boy systems?
I do not know that there are solutions to this issue. Perhaps angst is just a given when you have any group tasked with policing the actions of fellow citizens.
I think an immensely helpful solution is if some of our local cop critics attend the Idaho Falls Citizen’s Police Academy. It is absolutely free and meets every Wednesday night at 7 PM for ten week sessions. I believe anyone in southeast Idaho can attend.
The outreach program’s three stated goals are:
- To allow the citizens to meet the men and women who serve.
- To educate the citizens on the how’s and why’s concerning law enforcement.
- To work with the citizens in solving problems and sharing ideas to help make Idaho Falls a better place to live.
I attended a few years ago and was impressed. Detective Jared Fuhriman ran the class, and Post Register reporter Peter Zuckerman attended at the time. Fuhriman asked the room why they were motivated to attend, and there was at least one person who expressed their criticism of the IFPD. Fuhriman said they always have cop critics attending the academy, and they honestly welcomed them each time.
You are not required to attend the entire session. They give you a schedule of the topics covered each night. For myself, my questions and curiosities were satisfied after three or four meetings. You can obviously decide how long to go for your questions and curiosities to be satisfied.
You can access and print the PDF application, then drop it off at the police station or fax it to 612-8664. Call LT. Joe Cawley at 612-8653 for detailed information. Their website indicates session #21 ended June 8, so they will probably be starting another one soon.
I challenge local cop critics to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with and learn about our local law enforcement. Quietly take your own notes or let them know upfront if you are a critic. Comment back here what you experienced, and if your perceptions changed. At the very least, your criticisms will be fully informed.
If anyone has gone through the Idaho Falls Citizen’s Police Academy, what was your experience?
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Vote:
0 
0 I’d be interested going to that class if only to more informed about how they work, not because I’m a critic.
Vote:
0 0 Joe,
Why do you need to fill out an application in order to attend? Is it not open to all?
Vote:
0 0 Good question, I don’t know why they need a form filled out. I imagine partly so they can plan for how many to reasonably expect, but maybe there is another reason? They try to run it more like a class session than an open meeting, drop in if ya want thing.
I noticed on the registration PDF that they ask for your social security number, but I have no idea why they need that, I would leave that part blank.
vickim: Yeah that’s the majority of people there, not really critics of the police, just curious and want to learn more about their community, that’s how I was. I never thought that it could be healthy for critics also until I discovered others were there because they were critics.
It was pretty neat. I encourage anyone interested to attend. Again, not cost at all.
Vote:
0 0 I wish I could have attended that first session, Joe. I still get angry about Melissa’s murder. We were good friends in Jr. High and High School.
You’ve mentioned at least once you never felt resolved about the case itself, and I feel very much the same way. I guess the discussion at the Citizen’s Academy didn’t help much?
Anyway, I think it’s a great outreach program…I’ve always wanted to go, but I’ve never made the time for it.
The schedule date on the website shows 2005. Is that the last time they updated that page? What’s going on there?
Vote:
0 0 I belive that they use the information you put on the application to do a background check. My guess would be that they do not want criminals in the class.
Vote:
0 0 maybe they use the information to track you down. or harass anyone that gives them a hard time. I dont want to attend. sure lets just let them all know who doesnt like them so they can check the list when they pull you over.
Vote:
0 0 I hope you are joking..Im certain they have better things to do than what you allege in your post.
Vote:
0 0 Well that’s why I said you can go and just take your own notes. You don’t have to let them know you are a cop critic.
When they ask why you were interested in attending, give the usual response of you were interested in police work.
I also said that so cop critics do not have an excuse not to attend (i.e. I don’t want to attend because then they’ll know I don’t like what they do and then they’ll target me).
Vote:
0 0 Okay here is some more information:
Lt. Joe Cawley’s number is actually 612-8653 (their website is not up-to-date).
The next session is starting sometime in September. They should know an exact date in the next week or so.
It is located in the old title building just south of the current downtown PD location. That is great being in a central location. One thing I did not like was driving clear from the west side to the mall annex.
They do ask the Name, date of birth, and social security number to do a background check. They do not want the type of folks in there who would use the information for ulterior motives.
You can however, refuse to give your social security number, and they can run the BGC on just your name and DOB. You may get blocked if a criminal in the database has your same name and DOB, so it really depends on how common your name is.
There you go, really easy stuff. Now get your application in and try it out. Again, it is free, and it only takes an hour or so once per week for only ten weeks, and you are not obligated to go to every session.
Vote:
0 0 Joe,
As I have stated many times, I am not an attorney, but I do have a serious legal question here. I believe the policy of running background checks to block attendance at this meeting is a violation of the sunshine laws or the open-meeting laws. I guess I’m gonna have to speak to an attorney about that. I would be more than happy to attend, but I have the same reservations as stated in post 7. Call me paranoid, but their requirement of a background check only fuels that fire. What could they possibly say in that meeting that could be used against them? Ulterior motives? If what they do is above board and perfectly legal, then they should have no cause to be afraid of laying it on the line for ALL to hear. I’ll update here after speaking to an attorney friend of mine, but I would love hearing from someone more knowledgeable than me on that subject.
Are there other government meetings that require background checks for attendees? City council, county commission, etc?
Vote:
0 0 Well I think it is a class not a meeting, so I do not imagine sunshine laws apply.
I think the background check is so those types of people do not learn the basic police procedures used. Also one night I think is at the gun range, so obviously felons cannot be allowed in there.
I do not think they do the checks because they are afraid of their own words being used against them. In fact one cop did get in trouble for joking about persuading the folks to vote for Fuhriman.
Please let us know the results from speaking to an attorney about this. I would not want anyone discouraged from attending this.
Vote:
0 0 Of course they do background checks. It totally makes sense that they would and there is nothing sinister about it. Some people can’t just past their hatred of police (despite their protests that they don’t hate police) to see this.
They don’t want wanted people signing up. This is a world where you frequently hear about people calling the police to report that their drugs were stolen so don’t think this idea is silly.
They also don’t want career criminals signing up since the class is going to involve things like learning about police tactics, shooting their guns, driving their cars, and getting tours into the inner santcums.
Vote:
0 0 I would think they would want wanted people to sign up. Would make for a great arrest! Joe, I wouldn’t think my question regarding the sunshine laws would discourage any citizen from attending, it’s not their bad if it’s true. If memory serves me correctly, the city had a teeny problem a year or so back with violating the sunshine laws for the city council meetings. The attendees weren’t the ones in trouble, it was Dale Storer and the city council.
As I stated before, I’ve never been arrested, (nor am I on the 10 most wanted) but the idea of a background check to attend a city-sponsored function strikes me as questionable.
And criminals or not, they are still citizens, and are granted the same rights as the rest of us. I would think a criminal has as much right to attend as the pope.
Vote:
0 0 Okay folks…here is the one big point that is forgotten. It is my understanding that at some point during the academy there is a session on firearms. Attendees get to handle firearms and even get to goto the range and rattle off some shots if they choose. The federal and state firearms laws prohibit certain persons from even handling a weapon, let alone shooting one. If the department allowed a person to handle a weapon and/or shoot one off there could be legal repercussions. It is CYA to be sure…but nothing sinister.
Vote:
0 0 I thought the class was more fun than enlightening. It was cool that they did a warrant search on someone I asked about. It was kind of scary to know though that they let pretty much anyone drive around the citizens patrol cars. I was nearly run over by one of them. I called dispatch to let them know that not only was I almost killed, but that he nearly caused a wreck, he didn’t even see me. They must have had complaints about him before because they asked me to describe him and said “oh, that must have been so and so.”
Vote:
0 0 Now there is also a Citizen’s Law Academy starting up. It is apparently styled after the Citizen’s Police Academy, running for 10 weeks every Wednesday at 6:30 PM. Speakers appear to be “local judges, attorneys, and community leaders.” The PR reports the course is free for up to 30 signups, and you need to signup by August 31st.
Call 226-5138 or 236-7040 or 236-6101 to sign up. Don’t you hate it when they give a few numbers? Please give one single contact number!
Leave Your Comment
Our Community's Comment Guidelines:- Please stay polite and on topic.
- Your email will never be published.
- No profanity or euphemisms for profanity.
- No personal attacks, name-calls, put-downs, or baiting other guests, races, genders, or religions.
- Express opinions, facts, logic, and reasoning; just don’t argue for argument’s sake.
- No commercial links (unless absolutely relevant to the discussion) and no religious proselytizing.
- No religious discussions (for or against). Go to http://religiondebates.blogspot.com for religious discussions.
- Use the "I" word as much as possible to demonstrate responsibility.
- Limit yourself to using one name per thread to demonstrate responsibility.
- If you think a comment is inappropriate, ask Joe to review it.
Loading ...
Vote:
They usually offer donuts the first night so hey try it out!
One other thing is you can ask the cops about recent local cases. In my session, there was much discussion of Melissa Garcia’s murder.
One session they passed around confiscated drugs and paraphernalia. In another session they talked about family violence and abuse. It really opened my eyes.