by William Crum
The citizens’ police academy learned more about the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department recently.
The first visitor to the class was interim Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Ellen Hanson.
“We want the public to be informed and involved, by doing so we have programs like this,” she said. “This is why the crime rate in Kansas City, Kan., has decreased. We are constantly going out to various neighborhood groups and informing them of what’s going on. I don’t know how many times I’ve met with various groups and have informed them myself.
“Regarding the recent development with the school situation here, we still have a lot of full-time officers still in the schools until the new school security takes effect. We plan to work together,” she said.
“By the end of the year there should be a new chief of police in effect,” Chief Hanson said.
The other visitor to the class was Municipal Judge Maurice “Mo” Ryan, who spoke to the group about what goes on in the Municipal Court. He talked about what is criminal law. He mentioned what a felony is, a misdemeanor and what are traffic infractions. He also spoke about various laws that affect the court from the state level.
He also spoke about the scheduling within the Municipal Court itself, which was highly informative. At the end of his speech he answered various questions about the Municipal Court.
At the end of the class members were shown a video called “Heroes Behind the Badge.” This documentary showed a lot about what police officers have to go through, and many of them face death and danger.
“We are a lot like teachers,” said Sgt. William Barajas of the Kansas City, Kan., police training academy. “We do the job because we like it. Granted, things can be tough. However the rewards are endless in the long run. This is what we’re about, helping people.”
