We will make Vilas County a Safer Place to Live and Visit by Developing Strong Community Partnerships.
Sheriff Gerard Ritter
Doing Things Right the First Time, While Treating People with Dignity and Respect
Citizen's Academy
The Vilas County Sheriff's Office will be presenting another session of our Citizen's Academy.
​The Vilas County Sheriff’s Office looks forward to strengthening their partnership with the community of Vilas County through its Citizen's Academy.
Having such a program as the Citizen's Academy, allows law enforcement agencies to have the ability to be transparent within the community. The overall goal of implementing citizens is to further educate the public on the how and why of law enforcement procedures.
This type of transparency allows the public the opportunity to make an honest opinion of law enforcements actions in the future.
Applications are open to any resident of Vilas County who is 18 years of age or older. Applications can be emailed or mailed to Sheriff Gerard Ritter.
The schedule includes a wide variety of disciplines that law enforcement officers must know and are utilized daily.
Here is a video of our recent Citizen's Academy and what they did.
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Applications for 2026 Academy are now being accepted.
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First class meeting will be held March 19, 2026. Classes will be held at the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday and Thursday's, 5:00 - 8:00 PM.
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****Not all that apply will be accepted into the Academy. Applicants will be subjected to a background check and class size is limited to 12 students at this time. Applications for 2026 Academy are now being accepted.