Crime & Safety
Peabody Police To Offer Citizens Academy With Firearms Session
The department's 12th academy begins Oct. 20 and runs through Dec. 22 with the firearms course and classes on police reform and terrorism.
PEABODY, MA — The Peabody Police Department will offer a crash course on all that goes into being a member of the force in the 12th session of its Citizens Academy.
The weekly course, which includes a firearms session and classes on police reform and terrorism, runs Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. starting Oct. 20 through Dec. 22.
Space is limited. Applications will be accepted first-come, first-served through Oct. 11. Applications can be found at the police website here or picked up at the station.
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Other topics covered include the legal process, motor vehicle law, patrol procedures, domestic violence and investigations.
The program includes the firearms class where students will have the opportunity to shoot various weapons at our indoor firing range, a simulated "Shoot Don't Shoot" experience, participation in motor vehicle stop scenarios a tour of the Middleton House of Corrections.
Find out what's happening in Peabodyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"The Citizen's Academy allows residents to become much more familiar with the inner workings of the Peabody Police Department," Police Chief Tom Griffin chief said. "Participants gain an entirely different perspective into the community in which they live when they learn to see things through the eyes of a police officer."
Classes will be taught by members of the Peabody PD, the Essex County District Attorney's office and the Massachusetts State Police.
Class participation in strongly encouraged.
"We hope and expect that participants will graduate from the Citizen's Academy with a newfound appreciation for what we as police officers do," said Capt. Scott Richards, who is spearheading the Academy. "Participants will finish with a good deal of first-hand knowledge of how the department operates.
"It will be a real eye-opener."
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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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