Deacon, priest train with Arlington police

Deacon, priest train with Arlington police

The  Rev. Jan Cazden (fourth from left), deacon at St. Christopher Episcopal Church, Fort Worth, and the Rev. Susan Slaughter (sixth from left), recently retired rector of St. Luke’s in the Meadow, Fort Worth, recently completed the training course for the Arlington Clergy and Police Partnership (ACAPP) of the Arlington Police Department.

The ACAPP program was started in 2010 as a way to provide spiritual care to people in crisis and as a vehicle for promoting better understanding and connection between the police department and citizens of Arlington.  Clergy, once trained, are partnered at least once each quarter with a police officer to ride along on their shift and provide support to both the public and the police officer. ACAPP members also can provide an additional resource beyond police chaplains in times of crisis. ACAPP also organizes several community events throughout the year to provide service to the people of Arlington and opportunities to interact with police officers in a non-threatening environment. Service projects in the past have included school clothes shopping with families in need, participating in the rebuilding of a home destroyed by fire for a local family, and most recently, an event called Suds of Love.  This event included ACAPP members going to a laundromat and providing all patrons $5 in quarters for their laundry (drying supplied free by the owner), a jump house for kids, hot dogs and hamburgers, face painting, and a raffle.

Clergy are given a twelve week training course prior to beginning their service which includes presentations by various divisions within the police department. Ongoing support and training is provided.  ACAPP members meet once a month at the police station to keep updated on current issues.  They are encouraged to attend daily briefings at any shift in order to introduce themselves and to hear the current issues faced by the department.

To date, there have been seven groups of clergy trained, There are approximately 45 clergy active in the partnership.  Classes are offered at least once a year, and more often if interest is large enough.