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Montgomery Township outlines free eight‑week Citizens Police Academy to build community ties
Summary
Officer Jason English described the township’s free Citizens Police Academy on the Montgomery Township podcast, saying the eight‑week program combines classroom instruction and hands‑on demonstrations (K9, traffic‑stop drills, a firearms simulator) to foster understanding and recruit volunteers.
Officer Jason English, Montgomery Township’s community resource officer, described the township’s free Citizens Police Academy on the We Are Montgomery Township podcast, saying the eight‑week program is designed to build relationships between residents and police.
“It's a great opportunity for for both sides to build relationships,” Officer Jason English said, adding that the class meets once a week for about two hours and typically attracts about 20 participants.
The academy mixes classroom sessions and hands‑on demonstrations. Week one includes department history and a remembrance of Officer David Hancock, who died in the line of duty on Dec. 11, 1976. Other sessions bring detectives and members of the highway safety unit, a K9 demonstration, mock traffic stops in the department parking lot or sallyport, and a FATS firearms simulator at the Bucks County Training Center for shoot/don't‑shoot scenario training. English said Fort Washington FBI representatives are expected to appear to discuss the violent crimes task force.
McCreary said one township goal for the program is to “humanize local government,” and English said participants frequently tell instructors that seeing how officers make rapid, high‑stakes decisions changes their perspective. “They see all the split‑second decisions that have to be made,” he said, and that context can increase residents’ compassion and understanding.
Participation is free and aimed mainly at adults—often retired or nearing retirement—but English said teens from technical schools have joined in the past and the township also offers a brief junior police academy for younger children. Enrollment is limited and current sessions can fill; English said township staff review late applications and sometimes admit additional participants.
The program includes practical safeguards and guidelines: participants receive ID badges that do not authorize them to act as officers, and some classroom material is described as sensitive or confidential and is expected to remain within the class. Each participant receives a binder with the schedule, rules and reference materials; English plans a voluntary multi‑week practical exercise based on a packaged “Unsolved Case Files” investigation to give participants hands‑on investigative practice.
English and McCreary also described the academy as a volunteer pipeline: graduates are invited to help staff township events such as National Night Out. English urged residents who have not participated to consider applying for a future session.
The township posts program information and the application on its CrimeWatch page, which includes a camera registry residents can use to share footage with investigators. For more information, residents can follow Montgomery Township, PA, on the township’s social channels or consult the township website’s events and programs listings.
