As 2019 came to a close a few weeks ago, we reflect on some of the highlights that our police department participated in regarding Community Service outreach events.  Our Citizen’s Police Academy was another huge success with cadets ranging from young and old to include one cadet, Chris Jones, who has since been hired as a full time police officer with our department and who is currently going through training.  Our Hoops with Heroes event continued to be a big hit with youth who come from around the Tri-Community area to play in some 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 basketball games with our officers.  This event is a lot of fun for everyone because the badges come off and the kids get to have fun just playing some basketball with their friendly neighborhood police officers. 

In August of 2019 we hosted another well attended National Night Out event at Vanatta Park.  This event is by far our largest event of the year and helps bring law enforcement and the community together to take a stand against crime within our neighborhoods. 

New in 2019 was our Youth Police Program which was designed for children ages 13 to 15 and provided them with an inside look into the field of law enforcement.  Participants were taught about firearm safety, how to investigate crime scenes, police use of force, DUI education and traffic stops among other topics.   They were also taken for a tour of the Dauphin County Communications Center.  The program was well received by parents and it was a great trial run for our department.  Due to the success of this program we are pleased to offer it again in 2020 (please visit the Community tab on our website to apply).

The year slowly came to an end with our departments 7^th Annual 5K Hero Run in November as well as our annual participation in the Harrisburg Police Athletic League’s Shop with a Cop event in December.  We had 654 registered participants for this past year’s Hero Run and raised over $10,000!  Some of the proceeds benefit local charities to include the National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation, Cops for K.O.P.S and the Keystone Wounded Warriors.  The race also benefits the department’s K-9 Unit.  Our Shop with a Cop event allowed our department to team up with the Harrisburg Police Athletic League and help out local youth who were experiencing hardships within their home.  Thanks to Wal-Mart of Harrisburg, we were able to provide over 90 children with a $100 gift card that they could use to shop for gifts for members of their family.  Children were paired up with police officers from throughout Dauphin County who helped with selecting the gifts for their family members.

There were several other events and presentations that took place throughout the year...too many to list… but we wanted to highlight the major events that our officers enjoy attending because it gives us a chance for you to see us in a different light while at the same time building healthy, strong relationships with those we serve. 

All of these programs will be returning in 2020 and we encourage you to follow us on social media via Facebook as most of these programs are advertised on their as well.  It is a great way to stay up to date with your police department and keeps you informed about events that are coming up that may be of interest to you or someone in your family.  As of now, our Citizen’s Police Academy is currently underway and we are now accepting applications for our Youth Police Program which will start on June 22^nd, 2020.