Clergy and Police Alliance (C.A.P.A.)

Who can be a C.A.P.A. member?

Applicants must:

  • Be at least 17 years of age
  • Have a valid driver’s license
  • Live or work in the City of Kilgore or within the surrounding area
  • Maintain an ordination license from an organization like the American Fellowship Church or be recognized as ordained by your church leadership. 

All applicants are subject to a preliminary background investigation. 

Members who are in leadership roles, ie..Associate Pastors, Deacons, with the church may also apply.

CAPA leaders Tim Dukes and Johnathan Latham speak in front of CAPA group
CAPA members attending quarterly meeting

How do I become a member?

Before becoming part of the C.A.P.A. program, Clergy will first attend a special 24-hour training course sponsored by local law enforcement similar to our Citizen Police Academy.  This 8-week class, for three hours one day a week, is designed especially for pastors, clergy and religious leaders to indoctrinate them into the inner-workings of a police department and the criminal justice system.  Pastors and Clergy will receive classroom and “hands on” training in the areas of hate crimes, crime scene search, family violence, sex crimes, homicide investigation, traffic enforcement, narcotics, communications, use of force, internal affairs, high risk incident command issues, training, law, background investigation and emergency response.

After graduation, the new C.A.P.A. members will ride with a police officer to finish their training in a field environment scenario.  Spending time with officers gives them a better understanding of police protocol before acting in the official capacity as a C.A.P.A. member.

What is the purpose of C.A.P.A.?

C.A.P.A. member and their organizations will be called upon to pray for the police department members, to be intentional in the building of relationship with law enforcement and other governmental officials, be available on a voluntary basis and ride with officers on patrol to view and evaluate community issues and be available for crisis interaction involving our community members with follow-up ministerial services.  

Our goal with the C.A.P.A. program is to involve churches of every faith and denomination in the Kilgore area. 

As law enforcement officials, we believe a Clergy and Police Alliance program is a natural extension of our Departments Community Policing philosophy.  This is a great opportunity for both law enforcement and ministers to come together and work hand in hand to solve our community problems.