Many cities have some kind of citizens academy for everyday people who want a better understanding of what their first responders do, but Troy Riggs, then the director of public safety, wanted something more all-encompassing for Indianapolis. He commissioned Dane Nutty and Jim King in early 2014 to brainstorm what eventually became the Public Safety Citizens Academy, a free 12-week course that gives residents a behind-the-scenes look at the work of the city’s first responders and their various agencies.
King, then in the training division at Indianapolis Fire Department and now the academy’s program director, said Indianapolis was well equipped to offer this type of course because the city’s public safety departments are better connected than in other major cities.
The program takes its students — who range from curious private citizens to public employees who want to know more about the work they’re a part of — through the entire emergency process, from the 911 call to the emergency room, for example. The program also includes looks at investigative work, the SWAT team and animal control, among other things. The academy holds two courses a year, with the second one this year happening in the fall.
Those who attend the academy’s next course — which meets every Thursday from March 7 to May 23 — will get “an insight that is more informative than what you see on TV,” according to King.
“There’s plenty of firefighter shows and police dramas that don’t even scratch the surface,” he said. “Those things are a lot of times just not a good representation of what we do.”
Damon Lane, who works in the Office of Public Health and Safety, is getting ready to go through the course. Lane, 46, is in the re-entry division at OPS, so part of his job is helping the formerly incarcerated transition back into a normal life, and said he wants to have a better understanding of the city’s various agencies to hopefully help him do his job better. Lane, who was incarcerated for five years, said his work is especially personal because he was in the same position as the people he now assists.
“I define myself as a student of life,” he said. “As people, we evolve. There’s opportunities to learn, and even though I’ve been in the office, technology changes, people change.”
Jamie Jansen, community affairs manager at OneAmerica, went through the course last fall and graduated in November. She said she was surprised by the extent to which the city relies on first responders — not just for emergency services, but for concerts and other large events that require more resources than what the public eye can easily see.
Jansen, 33, said she appreciated the transparency of the agencies her class learned from, since one of the goals of the program is to build relationships between the community and first responders.
“We’re all in this community together, right?” she said. “I think for the community to stay a safe place and for it to grow and be a place people want to live in and work in, there has to be that relationship.”
The academy is getting ready for its 10th class, something its founders want to take some time to celebrate and appreciate. But they’re also thinking of ways to expand the program. Nutty, now the executive director of the Indy Public Safety Foundation, said part of the next step for the course could involve targeting certain populations — such as youth and a rising Burmese population — with a program that would be especially useful for them. It’s a far cry from where everything began five years ago.
“I was nervous about the first class,” King remembered. “… I thought, who’s gonna sign up for this? Why are they wanting to do this? This thing has exploded in so many ways. The potential is incredible.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
The Public Safety Citizens Academy is a free 12-week course that gives people a behind-the-scenes look at what the city’s various first responders, including firefighters, do every day. (Photo/Chameleon Studio Photography)
