2025 West County Police Citizen's Academy


The Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Cosmopolis Police Departments are inviting our residents to participate in the 2025 West County Police Citizens Academy.  The Academy will be held every Tuesday night from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm starting January 14th.  In addition to Tuesday evenings, there are tentatively two Saturday classes scheduled.   Classes will be held primarily at the Aberdeen Police Department.  

The deadline to apply is December 20th, 2024, however, space is limited to 20 participants.  Those interested are encouraged to apply early.   

The Citizens Academy is a twelve-week program designed to give the residents of our communities a working knowledge of your Police Departments.  Each week different areas of the departments are covered, including: 

  • Patrol Officer Recruitment, hiring and training.
  • Police Ethics, Citizen Complaints, and internal affairs. 
  • Patrol Operations and procedures. How we respond to calls…routine and emergent.
  • EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course)
  • K-9
  • Traffic Enforcement
  • Responding to Persons in Crisis
  • Investigations Division Overview to include discussions on Chile abuse, Gangs, Polygraph
  • Corrections
  • The courts…. (Municipal, District, Therapeutic, and Superior)
  • Special Response Teams (Crisis Response Unit or CRU, Hostage Negotiations, Fatal Accident Investigations Team, Drone teams,  Domestic Violence Response Team or DART)
  • Use of Force and the “Use of Force Continuum.”
  • Firearms Training (You’ll get a day at the Police Firing Range!) 

The instruction is comprehensive, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Instruction consists of lectures, scenarios, demonstrations, and tours.  There will be plenty of "hands-on" time for each student.  Instructors include Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Cosmopolis Officers and other personnel, who will cover their individual areas of expertise. 

During or following the Citizens Academy, you will have the opportunity to ride with an officer for a 3-hour period. This can be scheduled at a time that is convenient for you. 

  Candidates for the Citizens Academy must fill out an application that can be downloaded at 2025 Application Packet and meet the following criteria:

  1.     Minimum age of 18 years old
  2.     Live in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, or Cosmopolis
  3.     Have no felony record, convictions for misdemeanor crimes of moral turpitude or domestic    violence

The class is limited to 20 students so the sooner you apply the better opportunity you’ll have to be selected.


                Questions?  Please contact Lt. Jeff Weiss at (360)533-4100 Ext 7017 or jweiss@aberdeenwa.gov

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