In March the East Hampton Town Police Department announced that it was accepting applications for the second year of a newly redesigned Citizens Police Academy — an immersive, 10-week-long program taught by members of the department and promising participants an inside look at what it really takes to “protect and serve” East Hampton. First offered as an annual class in the 1990s, the initiative was reintroduced in 2024 to promote a “better relationship” between the department and its community.
Lt. Chelsea Tierney had a strong vision for the updated curriculum. “One of the things that I loved about school was sitting down and learning all the practical stuff, but then doing the hands-on — being able to get your hands on a case jacket, and going out into the field to apply what you learn. I thought to myself, ‘Instead of just sitting there and doing a whole bunch of PowerPoint presentations for a group of people and boring them to death, what if we made the Citizens Academy something that was really interactive?’ "
Drawing on 16 years of experience in the department, and a master’s degree in forensic psychology, she worked with Sgt. Kenneth Alversa to design a program that would be as engaging as it is informative. Classes are held on Wednesday nights at police headquarters in Wainscott from 6 to 9, and attendees represent a broad cross-section of the community — ranging in age from high schoolers to senior citizens. The group is capped at 12 to ensure an immersive experience for all and to facilitate open communication. “We’ve been together for seven weeks now, and people are comfortable asking the questions they might not feel comfortable asking someone standing up there for an hour lecturing a crowd,” explained Lieutenant Tierney. “It gives them a chance to ask us questions very candidly, and we can answer and explain things, and then they go out into the community and they share it.”
“I’ve always wanted to be in law enforcement,” said Pamela Vazquez, 20. She entered the program with more experience than most, having participated in a two-year-long course during high school designed to prepare students for careers in policing. Still, she found that the weeks she had spent in the academy prepared her in a “different way, because you’re actually here. We got to drive cars, we did the whole test, we got to shoot a gun and everything — you really get an understanding from this program, and that’s what I love about it.” She is one of four participants who have gone on to apply for a part-time officer position with the department — which Lieutenant Tierney described as an “unexpected” but “fabulous” bonus of the program.
The most immersive activities generate the most enthusiastic feedback. A highlight for many is the “ride-along,” in which participants are paired with an on-duty officer for three hours of an actual shift. “I already went for the ride, and it was amazing,” recalled Sandra Jacome, 45. “They took us to the route and did what they do every day.” She had been nervous to enroll in the program alone, not knowing what to expect, and waited until the last day to send in her application. “I was scared, but I’m very glad I did. In my personal opinion, after this, you have a different opinion about police work. Sometimes you judge them, but everything they do is for safety. They are human, they have kids. They take care of their families, too.”
This year’s program incorporated additional role plays in response to feedback from the previous class. “We brought a detective in and we had each one of them practice fingerprinting, so they got to lift latent prints. We had them photograph a crime scene, after we taught them all about track marks from an accident, and showed them how to put out placards.” The department is particularly well suited to creating these sorts of immersive experiences: “We are very geographically isolated out here, so our police officers — detectives, sergeants, lieutenants — are extremely well-trained,” Lieutenant Tierney said. Large departments like the Suffolk County Police have specialized units called in to respond to each specific situation. “Our cops do all of that themselves. Our guys are D.V. [domestic violence] certified. Some of them are certified in drug recognition. We photograph our own crime scenes. We now have a detective who is certified in forensic computer crimes, so he can do phone downloads — small departments don’t usually have that.”
Through the Citizens Police Academy, Lieutenant Tierney said, the officers are able to share that wealth of knowledge with the very community members they use it to protect every day. “We’re very lucky out here. The community is extremely supportive, and we want the community to know that we support them as well. So to be able to show them just how well-trained we are, and the services that we can provide to them — I just find that so important.”
