Twenty-nine people graduated from the 37th class of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Citizens Law Enforcement Academy (CLEA).

CLEA is held one night a week for 10 weeks and gives citizens an inside look at Sheriff’s Office operations. The course includes a tour of the jail and courthouse and activities such as a ride-along with patrol, a demonstration of felony traffic stops and firearms training. Each session is taught by a subject matter expert and includes patrol procedures, criminal investigations, K-9, SWAT and Forensics.

Inspired by a visit to the local Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch, students took up a collection and donated $2,100 to the Ranch during a check presentation at last night’s ceremony.

The next CLEA class begins in August but is already full. Applications will be accepted for Spring 2013 and can be found on www.SarasotaSheriff.org under the Crime Prevention tab click Get Involved.