By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A program aimed at linking criminal justice students with the resources of the Whitewater Police Department is about to get a footing in the community.
In early 2015, Whitewater Police will begin rolling out a new cadet program that will give a dozen potential law enforcement officers hands-on experience in the patrol and dispatch sides of the operation.
Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher provided a brief report of the cadet effort at a Common Council meeting Oct. 7.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a number of years,” Otterbacher said, pointing to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and its criminal justice program as a prime reason for adding the initiative.
The cadets will assist police during parades and other community events. Students could participate in other efforts as well, including searches for missing persons.
While she anticipates drawing a large number of cadet candidates from UW-Whitewater, Otterbacher stressed it is not limited solely to those attending the university. She said students enrolled in a similar program at the technical college level could also apply to be a cadet.
Jim Elder, a 7-year veteran of the Whitewater force, is building the program from scratch. When the cadet program launches, it will be capped at 12 people. As the department began putting out feelers for prospective candidates earlier this year, 26 applicants responded.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Elder said of the process involved in narrowing the pool of candidates. “The students’ enthusiasm has been great.”
The department has placed a number of pre-requisites, including a stipulation a would-be cadet have at least a 2.85 grade point average in school and no criminal record. As is the case with officers themselves, a background check will be conducted.
While Otterbacher and Elder said the department is happy to serve as a platform to help a student discover whether law enforcement is a career he or she wants to pursue, there is another positive to the new effort.
“If we have an opening (in the department), we might be able to pull from the pool of cadets and potentially have an officer who already knows the community,” Elder said.
