NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Community Week starts this week for the Newport News Police Department's academy recruit class. Monday, they were out and about, masks on, connecting with area neighbors.
Wilbur O'Berry with the Newport News Police Department led the team today. Community Week is part of their 22-week training.
"We don't have any real training on how to get them out to introduce themselves to people," O'Berry explained, "So now there's a whole week where they go out, meet with the community and the homeless, the Boys and Girls Club, and get to know the community they are going to serve."
Recruits went door to door, introducing themselves to the people in the Parkview neighborhood of Newport News.
Charles Cheek, who works for Parkview Baptist Church and is the Community Week organizer, said he believed that being integrated in the community was key to being a good officer.
"You're hearing their problems, you're hearing what their perceptions are of the police," he said. "These are the different things that the recruits are going to have to encounter on a day-to-day basis."
Monday afternoon, there was a dedication ceremony for Katie Thyne, the fallen officer that lost her life this past January during a routine stop in Newport News.
To honor her life, Parkview Baptist Church donated a community garden to the area.
During the Police Academy Recruitment week in March of last year, Officer Thyne was part of the recruit class that surveyed the community around Parkview Baptist Church.
One of the survey questions was "Do you believe the community needs a Community Garden?" and most people answered, "Yes."
It serves the dual purpose of helping people remember Thyne's compassion, and serving a need in the area.
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