Image courtesy of LMPD
Two upcoming courses offer Lower Merion residents the opportunity to both learn more about how their local police department works and serve as extra eyes and ears for the department.
The Lower Merion Township Police Department will host its Spring 2026 Citizens Police Academy every Monday from Feb. 3 through. May 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the department’s headquarters in Ardmore. Separately, the Lower Merion Community Watch will host a patrol training course at 7 p.m. March 12 in the Lower Merion Township Building in Ardmore.
The 10-week Citizens Police Academy course, taught by Lower Merion police officers, will offer an “accelerated overview” of the police department’s operations. Participants will work a mock crime scene and can go on a ride-along with an officer, and the course will cover topics including the police department’s organizational structure, the emergency response team, criminal and crash investigations, use of force, K-9 patrol, drone use, forensic pathology, and the criminal justice system.
The goal of the Citizens Police Academy is to increase understanding of police work and to develop effective police/community partnerships,” according to the township’s police department. On the final night of the course, a graduation ceremony will be held for participants, who will also receive a certificate of completion.
The community watch training program, meanwhile, will reportedly last about an hour and teach participants how to patrol their communities — such as not engaging with anyone who appears suspicious. Once they have completed training, community watch program members can sign up for two-hour-long patrols in the evenings, during which they are given a police radio to report any suspicious or criminal behavior they observe.
For the Citizens Police Academy, the Lower Merion Police Department is accepting applications through Feb. 9 from residents of Lower Merion and surrounding communities who are 18 and older, and the program is limited to 12 participants. Completed applications can be returned in person or via mail or email to [email protected]. Contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 610-645-6240 or at [email protected] with questions or to be added to our waiting list.
