The North Liberty Police Department has partnered with law enforcement forces from Coralville, Iowa City and the University of Iowa to offer the Johnson County Citizens Police Academy.

Citizens police academies don't just exist in the movies.

The North Liberty Police Department has partnered with law enforcement forces from Coralville, Iowa City and the University of Iowa to offer the Johnson County Citizens Police Academy .

The goal of the annual program is to teach local residents a wide range of tactics and training topics including basic defense strategies, firearms, violent incident survival and criminal law. The course delves further into the world of law enforcement teaching topics such as bomb squad tactics, collision investigation, traffic and radar enforcement, drug investigations and criminal law.

The department noted the aim of the “Citizens Police Academy is to promote a better relationship between law enforcement and the community it serves through education and hands-on learning.”

The course lasts a total of 11 weeks. Scheduled to begin on January 27th of 2014, the classes will be held at the Johnson County Emergency Communication Center, located in Iowa City.

Participants are required to submit an application for review and consideration. From there, they will be hand selected.