West St. Louis County Police Offer Citizen Police Academy

Sign up now. Eight sessions are planned on Wednesday nights, starting Feb. 27.

The St. Louis County Police Department, Fenton Precinct and West County Precinct is co-hosting a Citizen Police Academy at the West County Precinct, 232 Vance Road, Valley Park, next month. (For instant news updates follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter.) The classes will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on eight consecutive Wednesdays beginning Feb. 27, with graduation on Apr. 17. The academy also will include two field trips during the eight-week period. Chief of Police Timothy Fitch said in a news release, "The Citizens Police Academy creates the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the officers who serve and protect your community. Participants learn about what steps they can take to avoid becoming the victim of a crime and they get an inside …

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The Business Break-Down

Police Lend a Hand to Area Businesses

Both Town and Country and Manchester police departments offer help to protect local businesses. Take a look at what's available.

Shop owners in Town and Country can join the “Biz Alert Program,” which is like a neighborhood watch for businesses. The program is an expanded version of a “Church Alert” system the Town and Country Police Department has been running since 2007. More than 900 businesses belong to the program. The program is simple. Concerned business owners sign up for email alerts sent out by the police department. The alerts notify them of any criminal activity affecting businesses, in the hope that they will call 911 if they see a criminals in or around their stores. The alerts might inform businesses of recent robberies, shoplifting or vandalism. They can also pass on the descriptions of con artists trying to pass bad checks or counterfeit money. …

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Town and Country Residents Graduate Citizens Police Academy

Town and Country now has more alert residents watching the community.

 There is no official badge or authority that comes with it and no monetary compensation. There’s just the altruistic feeling of knowing that you are doing something good for your community. That’s what 26 Town and Country and Creve Coeur residents felt after completing a nine-week Citizen’s Police Academy and graduating Tuesday night at the Creve Coeur Government Center. The academy was taught in cooperation with Town and Country, Olivette, Frontenac, Des Peres and Creve Coeur police departments. “We get an opportunity to explain, a little more in detail, to the people we serve what it is we actually do,” said Lt. Bob Arthur of the Town and Country Police Department. “Hopefully they will have a little better understanding of what the …

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