University students now have a chance to learn about crime and police work without having to break any laws.

Athens-Clarke County Police will begin its 17th session of the Citizen Police Academy on Jan. 30.

During the 12-week course, participants spend three hours each week discovering the inner workings of the police department.

“With the Citizen Police Academy, we create a repertoire with people and learn about the most important problems in the community to them,” ACC Assistant Chief Alan Brown said.

Citizens learn how each unit within the police department works and tour the different facilities.

Participants also do a ride-along with an officer and learn about the different weapons police officers use.

“Fighting crime is a shared responsibility,” Brown said. “We have to have citizen support.”

However, participants are not authorized to make citizens’ arrests or write tickets upon graduation. They do leave the program with a graduation certificate and a better understanding of policework, Brown said.

There still is room available in the session beginning next week. Participants must be at least 18 years old and live or work in Athens-Clarke County. There is no fee for the course.

In each session of the academy, about 30 people participate, ranging in age from University students to 80 years old.

Most of the groups have been a good, diverse mix, Brown said.

Three University students participated in the session last fall.

One student was in law school, one was a criminal justice major and the other was pursuing a career in social work, Brown said.

A University professor and University housing staff also participated in the last session, said Tina Maisonet, ACC Police human resources specialist.

“We always have a lot of UGA people participate,” Masonet said.

ACC Police began the program in 1997 after Chief Joseph H. Lumpkin Sr. took over.

At the time, few other police departments had a Citizen Police Academy, Brown said. Now, they are much more common, he said.

“It brings people in and makes us more transparent,” Brown said. “For many years we’ve been a mystery to people.”

And he said he believes it is working.

Last December, after closely working with some former graduates in one neighborhood, the police received a Christmas surprise.

About 25 to 30 people from the neighborhood got together, spent all day cooking and brought in food for everyone at all the precincts, Brown said.

For more information or to sign-up for this session, contact Capt. Tim Smith at 706-613-3330, ext. 254.