Members of the ISU community can drive a police car, learn how to shoot handguns and experience a mock crime scene investigation through a 12-week program offered by the ISU Police.

The ISU Citizens’ Police Academy was established as a way to give the public a better understanding of campus law enforcement.

“It allows us to showcase the amount of education and experience we have in our department,” said Sgt. Liz Gries, program coordinator for the academy.

The ISU Police Department is different from state or city police departments, Gries said. It has more roles than a normal police department, because it also has to enforce university policies.

Topics covered during the program include the history of ISU Police, alcohol violations, defensive tactics, search warrants and a firearms course police officers go through. Tours of the police station and Story County Jail area also available.

The program uses both lectures and hands-on experiences to cover the topics. Each topic is covered by a different police officer every week.

“It allows you the chance to get to know the officers personally,” Gries said.

There will be three sessions of the Citizens’ Police Academy this year. The first one is currently in progress, but there will be two more held in the summer and fall. The academy meets every Thursday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Armory.

Ben Albright, senior in agricultural studies, said he decided to participate in the program because he thought it was a good opportunity to get to know what the police do. He said he had a negative stereotype of ISU Police going into the program, but after getting to know what responsibilities and duties the police have, he said he appreciates them more.

“ISU Police don’t get near the credit they deserve from the ISU community,” Albright said.

For graduation, a banquet is held for the participants and their family members, at which time each graduate will receive a certificate. In addition, the participants will share class projects they worked on. These projects are aimed at coming up with a program or objective that benefits the police department and university.

Albright said the class takes a long time; however, there’s so much to cover he said the length is justified.

Ebban Clause, senior in marketing, said the program has cleared up a lot of myths about what police officers can and can’t do.

Brian Mennecke, associate professor of logistics operations and management information services, said he believes the program is useful for any person to understand what police do.

“I’ve experienced a lot of things during this that have convinced me that I would not want to be on the other side of the law,” Mennecke said.