Community Relations/ Special Services

The Community Relations/Special Services Division provides educational classes, training, events and other opportunities for citizen involvement through our Community Programs. 

Community Relations is also responsible for media and communication via press releases, social media and the Opelika Police Department App which is currently in development. 


D.A.R.E/School Resource Officers

We have a very active D.A.R.E./School Resource Officer program that is tasked with building positive relationships with our youth as well as keeping our schools safe.

Our DARE program is for fifth grade students in the Opelika City School System. It is to teach kids the skills they need to stay drug free and resist violence. It teaches eight ways to say no to drugs as well as ways to discuss and solve problems before they escalate to violence. This is another very satisfying program for all those who work with it.

The Opelika Police Department has seven School Resource Officers, who constantly monitor all of the Opelika School System campuses. They act as liaisons between the schools and the Police Department on all matter of safety and law enforcement on campus.

Training

Opelika Police Department training unit provides initial and in-service training to all personnel. The OPD is committed to developing the skills and knowledge of sworn and civilian employees through hands-on continuous training.

Officer Training

  • New recruits go through several weeks of internal training before attending the 14-week training academy. 
  • School Resource Officers are sent to the NASRO Basic School Resource Officer Course and the D.A.R.E. Instructor course 
  • Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission requires a minimum of 12 hours of training per year, however many of our officers receive many more. 

K9 Training

Once an officer is named as a handler, that officer along with his canine partner is sent to Alabama Canine Law Enforcement Officer's Training Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  The new handler receives over 400 hours of intensive training while in school. Upon completion of the training, the handler and his partner are certified by Alabama Canine for one year.  All canine officers at OPD receive a minimum of 24 hours of training monthly when back at the department. The OPD is fortunate to have two Canine Trainers in-house which allows us to certify our canine teams internally one year then send the teams back to Alabama Canine to be certified the following year.  This provides an outside entity to certify and validate our maintenance training. 

Contact Us

  1. James Daniel

    Sergeant
    Email
    Phone: 334-705-5292

Community Events

Cops on Top

Cops on Top is a annual fundraiser for the Alabama Special Olympics. Members of the Opelika Police Department will be at Kroger in Tiger Town raising funds for the Lee County Special Olympics. 

National Night Out

National Night Out is a nationwide annual event on the first Tuesday in August. The event promotes community-building and enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement. 

Cookies, Chalk & Cops

Back the Badge Lee County hosts this annual event in September to show support for the law enforcement community. You can contact [email protected] for more information or to get involved.

Coffee with a Cop

The first Wednesday in October, National Coffee with a Cop Day, brings the community together for casual conversations with law enforcement.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
Together Opelika Banner