Albany Police announce graduates of 41st Citizen’s Academy

ALBANY, Ga. – The Albany Police Department (APD) extends a congratulations to the graduates of the 41st session of the APD Citizen’s Police Academy.

Following a slowdown in productivity due to COVID-19, the APD Citizen’s Academy resumed full operations with an announcement earlier this year, making a significant milestone in community engagement and public safety efforts.

Corporal Dillard Glover, from the Albany Police Department’s Community Relations Unit, provides insight into the academy experience.

“Almost every class that I’ve done since 2017, when I started doing it, we always have somebody in the class, they have kind of mixed thoughts about law enforcement or the police department. At the end of any one that we’ve done, those people have a different perception of our department when it’s all done and even a maybe a little bit of a different perception to law enforcement in general across the country. Education and understanding, it truly builds bridges, and that’s a part of it too. Building that bridge between our department in our community so that we continue to strive to work together and for the citizens to realize that our officers are just like everybody else. They live in the community, they work in the community in the same things that affect people in the community, affect our officers. And, you know, we all are trying to make a difference in this community, even if it’s just one little area at a time or it’s one person at a time,” said Cpl. Dillard Glover, APD Community Relations Unit.

The academy offers participants the opportunity to delve into various topics within the department, including investigations, patrol, gang awareness, 9-1-1 communications, firearms training, and more.

“We’ve actually had a few that have gone through the academy because it is a Citizen’s Academy. It’s not actually going through the process to be hired, but we have actually had several that have gone through this program that have gone on to actually come to work for the Albany Police Department. This is a great opportunity for our citizens to get involved with our department and get a better understanding of how our agency works. We’re very transparent. If you’ve ever had an interest in law enforcement or you just would like to learn more, this would be a great opportunity for you,” said Cpl. Glover.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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