Waynesville Civilian Police Academy Application Procedures
◼ The CPA is open to county residents free of charge
◼ Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can attend if accompanied by a parent or guardian.
◼ Applicants are required to have a background check.
◼ Applications are available at WPD Records or from the Town Clerk at Town Hall
◼ Applications must be received by the Town Clerk no later than one week prior to the class start date. No later than September 7 for this class.
◼ Next class is scheduled to start September 14, 2022.
The academy is not offered for employment or law enforcement certification purposes.
- The CPA is open to all county residents free of charge
- Applicants must be at least 21 years old.
- Applicants are required to have a background check.
- CPA Application (interactive PDF)
Safety, Service, Education
Waynesville PD’s Civilian Volunteers Devote Hundreds of Hours to the Community
They are hard to miss in their blue uniforms and safety vests. Yet just how much does the average citizen know about what this dedicated group of people provide to the Waynesville Police Department and surrounding community? Many may think it’s only in directing traffic and helping at town events, but it’s much more than that. WPD’s Civilian Volunteers (CV) typically devote 1000 man-hours of service annually to enhance the department’s outreach to the community.
“We are very fortunate to have the ability to deploy volunteers to help assist officers throughout the year,” said WPD Chief David Adams. “With the volunteers working so many hours, the department can minimize the cost of officer overtime and optimize resource allocation for more important tasks.”
CV further extends their volunteerism into the community with non-department related activities such as cooking and serving meals at the Salvation Army’s Singing On the Mountains event. CV members also conducted traffic control for 2022’s Tropical Storm Fred Remembrance Day in Cruso and Canton’s Labor Day events. In all the CV division worked 29 city and county events in 2022.
“Our CV members provided valuable support to Haywood County with over 1200 manhours during the COVID mass vaccination clinics in 2021,” said CV coordinator Mary Ford. “We are also honored to provide traffic control during first responder memorial services in the county, as well as serve in a support role at the North Carolina Police Chiefs Conference in Cherokee each year.”
The most important function of the volunteers is to organize and conduct an annual Civilian Police Academy (CPA). The CPA is taught by WPD officers and provides Haywood County residents a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes in the department and learn what our officers do at the grassroots level. The classes are taught by the officers who are in the community doing the job.
“Prior to the Academy, I had no idea how dedicated, professional and well-trained our officers are,” said longtime CV member Bill Price. “The amount of insight gained into the department’s programs and policies in just a few classes is astonishing.”
CPA classes are devoted to forensics and fingerprint analysis, Tactical Unit Ops, officer training, the K9 training program and deployment policy, drone utilization, crime investigation and drug enforcement tactics, plus much more. Academy attendees can also opt for ride-a-longs with officers on active-duty patrol.
“Attendance is free and there is no obligation to participate in the volunteer program after graduation,” said Chief Adams, “It’s simply our department’s way of pulling back the curtain to help our community understand our mission and actions better. We’re here to serve and protect, but not in a vacuum – it’s important we have direct rapport with those who we work for.”
The 2023 CPA begins March 1st and runs 8 weeks every Wednesday from 6:30-9:00pm at the Waynesville Police Department. The application process begins January 2nd. The official form is available online at the PD and Town of Waynesville Facebook pages, through the WPD app at WPD Records and from the Town Clerk. Applicants must apply by February 17th and are required to have a background check
The CPA is only open to 20 attendees, “And it fills up quickly,” said CV’s Ford, “so please apply early to assure your acceptance.”