If you're curious about the inner workings of a police department, you might be interested in signing up for the Gwinnett Police Department's upcoming Citizens Police Academy.
Gwinnett Police Cpl. Wilbert Rundles recently spoke with AccessWDUN about the hands-on program, saying that participants will meet twice a week for nine weeks.
"The Citizens Police Academy is designed to let citizens actually be a part of the police department, to see what goes on in the police department," Rundles said. "They are exposed to classroom and practical application things, [getting answers to] questions like 'How does the police department run? What is the structural organization? What does each unit in the police department do?'"
Rundles said members of each unit attend the classroom sessions to teach citizens what the job of each unit is.
One of the most popular elements of the class is exposure to the firearms training simulator, according to Rundles.
"[It exposes] them to situations of encountering someone, deescalation techniques," Rundles said. "We're teaching them about use of force. People have questions about that, not just from a law enforcement standpoint, but from a citizen's standpoint, as well."
Rundles said the program has been such a success in Gwinnett County that former participants have formed a Citizens Academy Alumni group. The group often volunteers when the Gwinnett Police Department needs assistance with community programs.
Rundles said the Citizens Academy is free of charge. Interested citizens can sign up through the Gwinnett County Police Department website. Rundles said space is limited, but there's also a fall session later in the year. The fall dates have not been set yet.
