LAURINBURG — Tuesday begins the third annual Scotland County Sheriff’s Office Citizens Law Enforcement Academy, and previous graduate would encourage the community to attend.
Carolyn Riggs participated in the first-ever academy and enjoyed it so much she came back again last year. While she isn’t going to be in attendance this year, she hopes the community will come and enjoy it as much as she did.
“I’ve always been interested in law enforcement and I have a daughter and grand-daughter who both work at the Sheriff’s Office,” Riggs said. “So it really helped me to be able to see what they do on a daily basis and how much that they have to deal with.”
Riggs added she has a lot of respect for officers and employees in law enforcement because of what they do and gained even more after seeing first hand and wasn’t able to pick a favorite out of all the things she learned.
“I enjoyed it so much,” Riggs said. “The second time I learned things that I hadn’t picked up on before and I was able to hear from different speakers but I really enjoyed both.”
She said that she was surprised by the amount of knowledge that all the officers and employees had and how much patience they have with people.
Riggs added she also tries to help volunteer at the Sheriff’s Office as much as possible and assist in any way she can. Along with fellow graduates they served officers food during a missing person search to help them during the time.
“If they call me I’ll go,” Riggs said. “They’ve done so much for us that if I can help in any way I can to lighten the load on them I will.”
She added if anyone wants to get involved in the community as well as help the Sheriff’s Office they should go through the academy.
“I just have so much respect for our law enforcement city and county,” Riggs said. “Because they’ll be there when we need them.”
The Citizens Academy is for those 18 and over but those under 18 can attend with a parent or guardian.
The classes will begin Tuesday and will continue every Tuesday through May 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office. While attendees are encouraged to fill out forms either in-person at the Sheriff’s Office or on its website, WLNC reported that even if someone comes on Tuesday without filing anything out they’ll take them and allow them to take the course.
The Sheriff’s Office is located at 212 Biggs St. on the left side of the Scotland County Courthouse.
Contact the Sheriff’s Office at 910-276-3385 or visit their website scotlandcountysheriff.com for applications and more information.
Reach Katelin Gandee at kgandee@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com
