[StBernard] Community involvement is focus of St. Bernard Citizens Police Academy

[Westley Annis]

Community involvement is focus of St. Bernard Citizens Police Academy

Print NOLA Community By NOLA Community 
on November 05, 2013 at 7:26 AM, updated November 05, 2013 at 7:30 AM

Maj. Carl Saizan of Louisiana State Police lauded members of the graduating
class of St. Bernard's Citizens Police Academy for taking the time to learn
about law enforcement and said such community involvement is crucial in
crime-fighting.

More than 30 residents of St. Bernard Parish graduated from the free,
10-week course geared to bettering communications between the community and
law enforcement.

Saizan, a Chalmette native who worked at the Sheriff's Office five years and
has gone on to head State Police in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and North
shore areas, was the speaker for the 15th graduating class of the Sheriff's
Citizens Police Academy at Nunez College on Oct. 30.

"It is community awareness and involvement that helps us fight crime,''
Saizan said. "We rely on citizens to play an integral role.''

He said, "Feedback from the public is both expected and appreciated.'' In
return, police must understand that wearing a badge is a privilege and not a
right, Saizan said.

Mentioning he is a native of Chalmette, Saizan said one of his first calls
as a deputy on the streets in St. Bernard was a burglary in progress call
near his parents' home and the man he caught was a former childhood friend
"who had played cops and robbers with me'' when they were young.

Saizan also said St. Bernard residents have a good Sheriff's Office devoted
to stopping crime and one that works well with other agencies.

Pohlmann told graduates that St. Bernard still has a small-town feel to it
but Sheriff's Office men and women are well trained and backed by the latest
technology in areas such as communications, weapons and innovations such as
a bomb robot to inspect suspicious items.

"I am lucky to be the sheriff of a great law enforcement department,''
Pohlmann said, "and a parish where people will pick up the phone and report
something that doesn't look right to them. It makes it a safe community when
citizens get involved.'

Pohlmann told the group he hoped they received insight into how law
enforcement works in the parish and encouraged them to get involved in a
Neighborhood Watch program in their community to help keep their area safe.

Natalie Seaton, who lives in eastern St. Bernard where she and her husband
moved after coming from Wisconsin to help as volunteers after Hurricane
Katrina, was chosen by the graduating class to speak for the group on the
final night.

"My husband, Tom, and I have been touched by the spirit of the people
here,'' Seaton said.

Many participants thought the class "was an eye-opener'' to what goes on in
St. Bernard, Seaton said. She read off comments from class members,
including that everyone enjoyed discussions and demonstrations of equipment,
much of it received through grants that didn't cost the Sheriff's Office
anything.

Seaten also said class coordinator Capt. Charles Borchers, who is Director
of Community Relations for the Sheriff's Office including Neighborhood Watch
programs, "never seemed to run out of patience'' and things to discuss.

Borchers can be reached at 504.278.7628 to discuss crime prevention tips,
organize a Neighborhood Watch group or learn about upcoming free programs
given by the Sheriff's Office.

Citizens Police was started as a mechanism for the public to learn about
police work in St. Bernard, interact with officers and ask questions about
any concerns. More than 500 residents have participated since its inception
in 1999.

The information in this article and pictures were provided by the St.
Bernard Sheriff's Office Director of Public Information Steve Cannizaro.