ST. CHARLES – Residents can learn what it’s like to work in law enforcement through the St. Charles Police Department’s annual Citizen’s Police Academy.

The Citizen’s Police Academy aims to give participants a better understanding of how the St. Charles Police Department operates. Topics included criminal and narcotics investigations; arrest and courts procedures; traffic stops; the K-9 unit; the SWAT team; crime scene processing; domestic violence; and the firearms training simulator.

When possible, the curriculum uses classroom instruction and outside demonstrations, where students can perform the activity demonstrated. Such activities are processing a “crime scene” for fingerprints, getting a radar reading on a moving vehicle and shooting on the firearms training simulator machine.