[Editor's Note: After reading this article, if you're interested in registering for the upcoming 12-week training class, please contact Sergeant Mark Hukel no later than Monday morning, February 17.]
The Fort Worth Police Department is about to start the next class of its CAPA program. CAPA stands for Clergy and Police Alliance. CAPA is a coalition of pastors, ministers, chaplains, and other members of religious organizations who work in partnership with the police department to serve the citizens of Fort Worth. CAPA members attend monthly meetings, attend roll calls, and ride along with police officers and are called on to help citizens in crisis.
The threefold CAPA Mission is: 1. Pray over our city, officers, and leaders; 2. Build relationships with Police Officers; and 3. Respond to minister to the citizens of Fort Worth in emergency situations.
Participants in this program are usually clergy, but the program is also open to interested church members who have a desire to serve the city and its citizens in this capacity. Arborlawn member Darline Michol is a trained participant in CAPA. (Read a personal account from Darline about her experiences in the CAPA program below after the end of this article.)
The program involves a 12-week course that lasts for three hours each session. The class includes specialized training that introduces trainees to the inner workings of the police department and the criminal justice system. Participants will be introduced to various units of the department including the Crime Scene Search Unit, Homicide Unit, Narcotics Unit, Firearms Training and much more.
The next FWPD Minister’s Police Academy starts Tuesday, February 25. More details and the CAPA Application are available at ClergyandPoliceAlliance.com. Anyone who is interested and who has questions is encouraged to contact Sergeant Mark Hukel with the Fort Worth Police Department.
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Reflections on CAPA from Darline Michol:
This is why I attended CAPA Training: Seeking a way to help FWPD identify possible adjustments in providing their Citizens Police Academy (CPA) training for persons with hearing loss, including those who are deaf and communicate in American Sign Language, I received an opportunity to participate in CAPA training for ministers. As it turned out, nothing needed to be changed. Sign language interpreting and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) simply needed to be added, which both were, leading to the graduation of the first 17 graduates who were deaf and hard of hearing in December 2011.
This is what I learned: I learned more that I could have imagined. I learned that good police work is not merely enforcing laws. More importantly, it also involves developing collaborative relationships with the communities it serves. That police community programs are important in Fort Worth, especially with the size of the department as compared to the city's rapid growth. But, also as an opportunity for people in the community to make a difference city-wide. That the CAPA program offered by FWPD is renowned nationwide and has served as a model for other police departments, like Houston PD, to follow.
I entered an area of police work which receives little recognition and news coverage. CAPA’s depth of work is difficult to describe in a sound byte and to anyone who has not experienced humanity when it is its most vulnerable. On a personal level, being the fixer that I am, between CAPA, Stephen Ministry and volunteering in the Chaplain’s Office at Baylor Hospital, I learned to become a better listener. It is an ongoing learning experience, reminding myself to quiet the inclination to provide solutions. Instead, to be present and provide comfort, each time calling upon God to guide and use me. To meet people where they are, and as I look back on these experiences, to become more missional. That’s the exciting part for me, that a police department would invite, welcome and provide opportunities for citizens to become more missional through the likes of a ministry like CAPA.
The CAPA training is specific to and provides insight into the operations of the FWPD. It is the kind of training that breaks down barriers and opens minds to the possibilities, including a safer city, a more accessible city government and responsible citizens. Once graduated, riding with police officers provides the experience of their day, having to quickly process and transition from one call to the next, which can occur in rapid succession. Riding with officers also provides insight into neighborhoods and where other ministries are needed. Anyone signing up for CAPA training from Arborlawn will more than likely serve the western area of Fort Worth, which includes Arborlawn.
The realities can be daunting from neighborhoods where poverty is visible to those with manicured lawns and tree-lined streets. For example: A distraught mother considering suicide with her children asleep in the next room. Parents concerned about their 13 year old daughter who ran away from home, because a friend thought it was a good idea. A young woman who had checked in on a coworker and found her deceased. Providing comfort to an automobile accident victim in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Praying with a family of a homicide victim. Praying with police officers prior to their shifts and city-wide events. The joy, as crazy as this sounds, can also be found in the daunting experiences when someone hugs you or begins a prayer of gratitude for your presence. Sometimes, it comes with knowing that you did your best, that through you God brought comfort, and as a result you became more affirmed in your faith. There are also fun times, getting to know other CAPA members and their churches. It is a different world where people in ministry and law enforcement come together with God to serve His people.
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