GREAT

The Gang Resistance Education and Training Program, better known as GREAT, reaches all fifth grade students in the Grand Island Public Schools and Trinity Lutheran School. GREAT is a seven week program taught to the students by a Police School Resource Officer. The GREAT program emphasizes teaching young people techniques like making GREAT choices, communicating messages clearly, controlling your anger and respecting others. This leads to being a GREAT citizen.
The GREAT program is also taught to all Grand Island Public Middle Schools. This is a 13 week program and it is also taught by a Police School Resource officer. The Middle School GREAT emphasizes things like the truth about gangs and violence, student roles in their families, schools and communities, identifying realistic goals, how to make good decisions and how to communicate well.
The Middle School also shows how to develop empathy for others, how to deal with peer pressure and what you can do when you feel angry. This helps kids learn how to resolve conflicts.
The Grand Island Police Department then has a summer youth camp for fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh graders. The sessions are one week long for each of the five different groups. They take place at Howard School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each week.

The Summer Youth Program is for the fourth and fifth grades and sixth and seventh grades.  This one week program gives students a change to work with the Grand Island Police Officers.  This program, in cooperation with G.R.E.A.T., (Gang Resistance Education and Training) gives kids the opportunity to learn teamwork, cooperation and life skills such as learning how life can change once a student makes the decision to use drugs or join a gang.  The Summer Youth Program is limited to 60 kids with five sessions held throughout the summer.  To register for this program contact the Police Department.

The Police Department allows persons who are 15 years of age or older to ride along with Patrol Officers while on duty.  The Ride Along program presents a unique opportunity for citizens to learn more about police work while improving trust between the community and the Police Department.
There are some restrictions to the program and persons under the age of 18 must have parental or guardian permission.  All participants must complete a request application which is available on the Services and Information page and must also sign a waiver of liability.  People who are interested in participating in a Ride Along should contact the Police Department.

The community police academy is a program that the Grand Island Police Department participates in partnership with the Hall County Sheriff’s Department and the Nebraska State Patrol. The community police academy meets annually, starting with the first Thursday in November, and runs for a period of 10 weeks. The purpose of the Community Police Academy is to provide citizens with a better understanding of law enforcement.  The agencies involved accomplish this with hands on instruction and practical application of the topics discussed. The topics that are covered over the 10 week period are:

• Accident Investigations
• TASER
• Scenario Based Firearms
• Use of Force
• K9
• Child Abuse
• Jail Issues
• Polygraph
• Gangs

• Defensive Tactics
• Firearms
• Simunitions
• SWAT
• Emergency Vehicle Operations
• Domestic Violence
• Drug Task Operations
• Crime Scene Investigation
• Drugs/DUI

The Grand Island Police Department is always seeking qualified individuals who are considering a career in law enforcement to participate in the college internship program. This program offers challenging and rewarding opportunities for professional development to qualified students.  Internships allow students to gain insight into the law enforcement profession through experiences that are rarely available in a conventional classroom setting.  This program is a non-paid college internship that introduces students to a variety of aspects of law enforcement that will enhance understanding of the criminal justice system.  In addition, students are introduced to the possibilities of several different types of career opportunities in law enforcement. Students who participate in the program receive academic credit for their unpaid fieldwork in accordance with the criteria developed by the college or university institution.   

The GIPD program is a non-paid college internship program that introduces students to aspects of law enforcement that will enhance the students’ understanding of the criminal justice system.  In addition, students are introduced to various career opportunities in the law enforcement field.  Students who participate in the program receive academic credit for their unpaid fieldwork in accordance with the criteria developed by their college institution.