The Third Annual SJSO Citizens Academy Session is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 25 and will end on Thursday, June 27.

We have had 33 diverse graduates from all over the parish since we started in 2017.

And while we are pleased with the participation, we would love to have larger classes! In talking to citizens, I have asked “what is the reason you have not taken advantage of this opportunity?”

The three most common reasons are as follows:

• First of all, people don’t feel like they have the time in their busy schedules. I truly understand this reasoning, because I frequently feel like there are not enough hours in the day to complete my list of duties.

But I want everyone to know that you don’t have to be committed to attending all nine sessions. We only ask that you attend at least 50 percent of the sessions.

• The second reason is that some citizens think this class is some sort of training for their participation in law enforcement. Well, that could be farthest from the truth. This is not like television. There will be no citizens arrests by our graduates.

Our goal is to show citizens how this department operates. The classes include tours of the various departments and full insight into the equipment and resources available to our offices when we tackle the problems of everyday law enforcement and safety in our parish.

There are so many opinions about how law enforcement officers “should have” handled certain situations. And with social media, everyone is a Monday morning quarterback. Television is great entertainment but it is NOT the real deal.

In citizens academy, we share details about our training, and what the law will and will not allow us to do in our line of work. The most common question asked to deputies is, “why can’t you just shoot someone in the leg during an altercation?” Well, you need to come to the academy to find out!

• The third most common reason citizens don’t attend the academy is that they didn’t know anything about it! Well, the only thing the Sheriff’s Office has not done to advertise is to put flyers on vehicle windshields in parking lots.

We have announcements in the newspaper, on our website and Facebook page and we have banners made of the graduate classes with the dates of when the next academy will begin.

They have been out at the Andouille Festival, high school football games and school fairs. When I hear that people didn’t know about it and I ask how do you get your news, the usual response is word of mouth or social media.

So I’m asking anyone who can to please help us spread the word. Share our Facebook post and tell your friends about this worthwhile information.

I want the citizens to know where and how your tax dollars are being spent. This is your opportunity to ask questions and get first hand official information for all the things you want to know.

This is your opportunity to get to know the names and faces of the people who work hard every day to make this parish safer for all of us. If you choose to sacrifice a little of your time, you will be glad you did.

Mike Tregre is sheriff of St. John the Baptist Parish. Reach him at m.tregre@stjohnsheriff.org.