[StBernard] St. Bernard Citizens Police Academy opens 15th year

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Citizens Police Academy opens 15th year
Print NOLA Community Submission By NOLA Community Submission 
on September 02, 2014 at 8:01 AM, updated September 02, 2014 at 8:08 AM

Saint Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann told a new class of the Citizens Police
Academy that because of St. Bernard's relatively small size, "Some might
believe we are Mayberry.''

The reference was to the sleepy town of fictional Mayberry, N.C,, and its
two-man Sheriff's Office force of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife
from the old "Andy Griffith" TV show of years ago.

Pohlmann assured the class of more than 35 parish residents on its first
night of a new session that, "We are not Mayberry.''

The St. Bernard Sheriff's Office is a professional law enforcement agency
with well-trained and equipped officers using the latest technology to fight
crime, he said. Nearly all the members of the senior command staff are
graduates of the well known FBI National Training Academy in Virginia, an
enviable statistic for any law enforcement department.

Pohlmann said the department has come a long way, referring to the day 31
years ago when, as a young basically untrained deputy, he was given the keys
to a police unit and put on the streets to patrol St. Bernard, the sheriff
said.

"Things have changed'' so much over the years, he said, including an
emphasis on hiring the best people, training and equipping them.

Participants in the Citizens Police Academy class "will hear about things
you may never have dreamed of,'' about this department and how advanced it
is, Pohlmann said.

He said the Sheriff's Office continues to have a good relationship with
residents who have shown a willingness to cooperate by making timely calls
to the department if they see something suspicious in their neighborhood.

"And we back that up with a quick response time'' when calls come in.

The sheriff acknowledged "everyone is concerned about drugs'' in society
because, like everywhere else in the country, they exact a toll on a
community, with the majority of property crime driven by drug abusers
stealing to get money for their next high.

Some people ask what is different between now and before the parish's
devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said. One fact he acknowledges
is, "We lost a lot of good people from this parish who moved away'' after
the storm and "have kept some of the bad.''

But there are still many good people in the parish and many who have moved
to St. Bernard since the storm are law-abiding ones who want a safe place
for their families, he said,

As for numbers, while there are fewer people living here now, arrests some
months are higher than comparable months before Katrina and the number of
calls for service are sometimes just 10 percent less than before the storm,
he said.

And the department has fewer employees than before the storm, which means
their willingness to perform at a high caliber is so important, he said. And
it is more vital than ever for residents to call the Sheriff's Office at
271-2501 if they see anything in their neighborhood that looks out of place
or in ny way suspicious.

Citizens Police Academy started in St. Bernard in 1999 and more than 600
parish residents have gone through the free 10-week course that involves
meetings on Wednesday nights, with a graduation ceremony this year at the
end of October.

Capt. Charles Borchers, who directs Citizens Police Academy assisted by Dep.
Eric Eilers, said the class "isn't designed to make you a police officer''
but to foster good relations between the department and the community. It
offers insights into police work here and allows participants to get answers
to questions about their parish. Many who take the sessions say they are
looking for more information about how the parish works.

Borchers can also be called at 278-7628 if anyone wants to start a
Neighborhood Watch program on their street, if they are interested in being
considered for the sheriff's Reserve Division or to receive information
about the annual Night Out Against Crime celebration coming up in October.

Maj. David DiMaggio, head of training for the department, also spoke on the
increased emphasis on training since Sheriff Pohlmann took office July 1,
2012, and he described the application and hiring process to become a
sheriff's deputy.

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