Metro recognizes inaugural Community Police Academy graduates

On November 29, 2023, Metro recognized the first-ever graduates of the Metro Transit Police Department’s (MTPD) Community Police Academy (CPA).

The CPA graduates consisted of nine community members from across Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, who committed to an eight-week program. The CPA was launched in September of 2023 and allows interested community members to learn firsthand about police operations, including police training, procedures, and philosophy.

All members participated in scenario-based training, classroom discussions with members from several of our specialty units, and a ride-along with our patrol unit. The ability to participate in a ride-along gave each community member a unique real-time experience based on the officer they were shadowing. These experiences included traffic stops, patrols of the system, priority responses to calls, welfare checks, and more.

“There was something different happening like every ten minutes or so. Even when we were driving around, the radio always had something going on. It was a nice experience” says Community Police Academy graduate, Jamilah Hargrove.

The Department realizes the importance of working with the community and receiving their input to maintain an effective police department. MTPD also wants to ensure that the community realizes that Metro does have its own police department and that we want to continue to build relationships and grow with the community that we serve.

“We do have our own police department, and we’re the only one in the nation that covers three different jurisdictions," said Metro Transit Chief of Police Michael Anzallo “It’s an educational piece as well, some of the graduates have attended a D.C. or Prince George’s Citizens Academy. We’ve been able to show them that there’s also another police department here in the region, and we’re an important player in the region.”

The Community Police Academy program is held twice a year, with one session in the fall and one session in the spring. The eight-week program is free to the public. Please be aware when the application process begins for the spring academy, these spots are limited and on a first come, first served basis. Community members interested in applying for the spring Community Police Academy can inquire about the academy by clicking here.

The CPA is open to residents of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as Metro employees and members of local civic and governmental organizations. Participants of the Community Police Academy are given the opportunity to experience many areas of police training firsthand. The program parallels the same subject areas that police officer candidates receive.

The Community Police Academy is for informational purposes only, and it does not train or give authority to participants to act in a law enforcement capacity. Applicants must agree to a criminal history background check and must be 18 years of age or older to participate.