Guilford County Sheriff's Citizens Academy graduates after 10-week training

Guilford County residents who make it into the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy do not simply sit through a feel-good tour. They sign a waiver, get it notarized and clear a background investigation before taking part in a 10-week program that walks them through sheriff operations, community service and the work of the Community Resource Unit.

That screening matters because the academy is designed as a public-trust tool as much as an education program. Guilford County Sheriff’s Office says its Community Resource Unit connects the agency with the public through crime prevention, safety education and community programs, while the academy itself is meant to improve law enforcement-community relations by giving residents a closer look at internal operations. For a county agency that says it works through three patrol districts and aims to reduce crime and the fear of crime, the class is one of the few places where residents can see how the office describes its own mission from the inside.

The curriculum is not limited to a general overview. In one recent session, participants had already covered the Sheriff’s Office overview, Field Operations, Professional Standards and TASERs by week 3. A Spring 2024 class completed eight weeks of training in law enforcement operations and internal processes, showing that the academy has been an ongoing outreach effort rather than a one-time public event. County records show the program has been offered repeatedly in recent years, with classes announced for Feb. 7, 2019, Sept. 5, 2019, Feb. 27, 2020 and Aug. 18, 2022.

The latest graduation gives the office another chance to test whether the program changes how people interact with deputies after the classroom portion ends. The academy’s structure suggests the Sheriff’s Office wants residents to leave with a clearer understanding of how Field Operations, internal standards and public safety tools fit together, and with a better sense of where to direct concerns when they arise. The current interest form sends applicants to the Community Resource Unit at 400 W. Washington St. in Greensboro, a small but concrete sign that the office is using the academy as one more point of contact with Guilford County residents.