Friday, July 18, 2003
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Friday, July 18, 2003 |
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Applications available for PTC citizen's police academy By JOHN
MUNFORD
A select group of Peachtree City residents will get to see how police work happens firsthand through the Citizen's Police Academy program being offered by the Peachtree City Police Department. Interested persons are urged to pick up an application packet for the program, which will be held Thursday evenings from Sept. 11 to Nov. 13 from 6-8 p.m. Police Chief James Murray said the department will select applicants representing a wide cross-section of the community. "We want to give people a better understanding of how police work happens," Murray said. "This is ultimately what community policing is all about." Applicants must undergo criminal background and driver's history checks, but once accepted to the program they will be allowed to ride along with a city police officer on their own time if they wish. Participants will get to use a weapons simulator that presents real-life scenarios in which an officer must decide if and when to use deadly force, Murray added. The course will also cover traffic laws, officer survival, criminal investigations, crime scene processing, identity theft and a host of other topics. Although only 25 applicants will be selected to participate, the department can hold another academy in the future if there is enough demand, Murray said. The department was one of the first in the state to offer a citizen's police academy back in 1991. "Every time we've done it before it has been ultra successful," Murray said. Applications for the Citizen's Police Academy are available at the department's headquarters at 350 Ga. Highway 74 south and at the library and City Hall. The deadline to apply is Aug. 27 and applicants must be at least 18 and either a resident, business owner or employee of the city. The course is free and all classes will be held in the department's training room. More information is available at www.ptcpolice.org or by calling the department at 770-487-8866.
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