City Councilmembers, City Treasurer, City Clerk, City Attorney, City Manager, Citizens Police Academy

Two of the City’s most popular and constructive programs are getting underway for the 2024-5 year so I thought that it would be good to describe them and tell you about the experiences that they offer. The two programs are:

Team Beverly Hills; and The BHPD Citizens Police Academy.

Team Beverly Hills is a well-established program commenced more than 25 years ago by then Mayor Tom Levyn. Since that time approximately 750 Beverly Hills residents have participated in and completed the program. It is almost a sine qua non for appointment to a city commission as it is a comprehensive introduction to the operation and functioning of the city. An express objective is “to build a resource of involved community members for future Commissions, committees, programs, and projects for the benefit of the Beverly Hills community.”

The program informs community members about their local government representatives, departments and programs; community associations; and current community issues. The fact that the program is now managed by Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling is indicative of the importance of Team Beverly Hills.

Former BHUSD Trustee Isabel Hacker explained: “Team Beverly Hills effectively introduces and delivers practical and informative education for the various divisions of the City. An awesome opportunity of learning and true civic engagement is what Team Team Beverly Hills is all about.”

Over the course of ten or so weekly meetings, Team Team Beverly Hills participants are treated to presentations City officials and representatives (Mayor and City Councilmembers, City Treasurer, City Clerk, City Attorney, City Manager, City Department Heads from Community Development, Community Services, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Public Works, including the Police Chief and the Fire Chief); as well as community groups, local business, and education leaders.

Cultural Heritage Commissioner and former chair and member of the Traffic and Parking Commission and Planning Commission Andy Licht said: “Team Beverly Hills is an excellent opportunity to learn about how the City functions. It was perfect for me because I love learning how things work. So much so, that my wife called it "Camp Beverly Hills" because I always looked forward to it. I also learned that we have many great people working for us.”

Long-time Beverly Hills resident and charter member of the Mature Men’s Book Discussion Group Joel Krischer strongly recommends participation: “Team Beverly Hills was both informative and fun. It was an enjoyable way not only to learn about how our city functions, but to meet the very dedicated staff -- in all areas, including those one would never think about -- who keep our city working smoothly. We had a great time and would recommend it to anybody.”

I am a proud member of the Team Beverly Hills Class of 2017. I enjoyed every minute of this program but there were two highlights. First, the tour of the main firehouse on Rexford and being served a “home cooked” meal by several of the firemen who had prepared it for the members of the department who would be staying overnight. Second, the opportunity to role play the part of a rapacious developer in a mock Planning Commission hearing.

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The BHPD Citizens Police Academy

While it is somewhat newer than Team Beverly Hills, the success of the Citizens Police Academy is illustrated by the intense competition to be one of the twenty residents to be selected, generally by lottery, to participate. This comprehensive introduction to the many aspects of law enforcement is led by BHPD Sgt. Billy Fair. The current academy started only a few weeks ago. It is a ten week program that includes visits to the crime lab and the shooting range and demonstrations by the SWAT team, the fabulous police canines, detectives and defense tactics.

Most challenging is role-playing in a number of realistic scenarios of the type that our law enforcement officers confront every day. During my time at the academy, we went through four different scenarios. I did everything wrong that could possibly done wrong and then some. You all should be thankful that I am not a member of BHPD.

The reaction of participants could not be more enthusiastically favorable.

Current Academy participant and City Treasurer Howard Fisher said: “The Beverly Hills Citizen Police Academy provides residents with an eye-opening experience into the demanding and courageous world of policing, highlighting the extensive training, education, and expertise that our officers possess. From our very first class, where we role-played two intense scenarios - a routine traffic stop and a delicate situation involving a suicidal person with a knife, we gained a profound understanding of the split-second decisions and dangers officers face daily. These exercises revealed the depth of skill, compassion, and quick thinking required to handle the unpredictable and often perilous nature of police work. It became clear that it takes a truly special person to wear the badge—someone committed to service, bravery, and unwavering dedication to keeping our community safe. Through this program, we not only learned about the realities of law enforcement but also developed a deep respect for the men and women who stand on the front lines every day.”

Long time highly engaged resident Gay Abrams had a similar report: “I found the Beverly Hills Citizen Academy very effective in educating community members regarding the complicated and challenging responsibilities of our police officers and law enforcement in Beverly Hills and all over our country. The program is very well conceived and effectively administered. The officers and staff divide each week by subject focused on the various Police Divisions such as Detectives, Drones and Technology, SWAT, K-9, state and federal law enforcement policies and procedures, etc. It is truly fascinating. I found each class to be engaging, fun, frightening and mostly educational. As part of the program, the staff does an incredible job replicating real life behind the scenes experiences allowing individuals to understand what it is like to be in the shoes of officers who are compelled to make life and death decisions. Although I have always empathized and appreciated the difficult job of law enforcement, I walked away with so much more knowledge and empathy for our officers as they negotiate the delicate balance between keeping our communities safe and themselves while respecting civil liberties and the complex laws that often tie their hands.

“Every community across the country would benefit from this program.”

Similarly, Jacques Wertheimer, told me: “I learned about the broad scope of police operations and services and how best to personally use them should the need arise. Rather than “teach” 20 students twice a year, I suggest that the program be changed to a larger format/venue that could permit instruction of 100+ residents. Very very valuable course.”

Further, Mr. Wertheimer observes that when Beverly Hills residents wave at members of the BHPD, they use all of the fingers on their hand. He speculates that it is because of the good will inspired by the Citizens Police Academy and the many other good works done by our police.

My only complaint is that there are not more programs like these. Perhaps we can convince our personable fire chief Greg Barton to consider putting together a BHFD academy.

Peter Ostroff is a retired attorney and former Beverly Hills Planning Commissioner.