Stan Norris, an academy participant, feels the heat that rises from a dental stone caste of a footprint. Forensics officers use the technique at crime scenes.

Blacksburg police Officer Johnnie Self took over the department's citizens academy three years ago from Chief Kim Crannis. "I think it's good for our community relations," Self says.

Sedrick Hayes of the Blacksburg Police Department's Emergency Response Team shows off his tactical gear to Evelyn Farrier. When Officer Johnnie Self took over coordinating the 10-week academy a few years ago, he added components such as a presentation by Officer Mike Albert and his drug-detection dog, a Belgian malinois named Chesty, and a presentation by members of the Emergency Response Team.

Residents and police officers mingle at the shooting range during the academy's firearms night. Participants spend three hours at the department's firing range, where — with the supervision of several officers — they get the chance to shoot a .22-caliber pistol, two .40-caliber pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Bushmaster rifle.

Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Beatrice Kalka receives instructions before she fires a .40-caliber pistol during the Blacksburg Police Department's citizens academy.

BLACKSBURG -- Stacy Pinard-Stivachtis has clocked speeders on radar and fired every gun used by the Blacksburg Police Department, though she's not even a cop.

Pinard-Stivachtis, a real estate agent with Long & Foster, is one of 12 people taking part in the current session of the police department's twice-a-year citizens academy, which gives regular people a chance to see what goes on at the department.

"It's a lot of fun," Pinard-Stivachtis said.

The Virginia Tech Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office also offer citizens academies, and the Radford Police Department and Giles County Sheriff's Office say they're considering putting together academies of their own. It has been a few years since the Christiansburg Police Department has held an academy, but it plans on holding one early next year, police secretary Stephanie Kilby said.

"It is a way that we can invite citizens to get a peek of the day-to-day operations of our office," said Lt. Brian Wright of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, which has been holding such academies annually for more than 10 years.

The academy offered by the Blacksburg Police Department got its start as a project. Chief Kim Crannis, who at the time was a captain, put the academy together as a graduate school project in the late 1990s.

"We wanted to open our doors to the community," Crannis said. "That's who we work for."

Crannis said the department budgets $2,000 annually to provide snacks and shirts given to participants after they complete the program. The department also pays some overtime for officers who help teach the classes.

Crannis coordinated the academy until Officer Johnnie Self took it over three years ago.

According to the National Citizens Police Academy Association, the first citizens police academy was held in the United Kingdom in 1977 in the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary in the city of Exeter.

The first citizens academy in the United States was in 1985 at the Orlando Police Department. Its goal, according to the association, was to reduce crime through a stronger citizen commitment to the police department and the community.

It worked, and police departments across the country began putting together their own academies.

"I think it's good for our community relations," Self said. Through the academy, people begin to understand "even though I'm a police officer, I'm just a regular person. Then they're a lot more comfortable around me."

At times, Self said, former academy participants have called the police department and asked for him, preferring to talk about an issue with him instead of whoever happens to be on duty.

"It gives them somebody they can be more personable with," he said.

When he took the reins from Crannis, Self added several components to the 10-week academy, which runs for three hours a night, one night a week.

"He took over for me and has taken it beyond my wildest expectations," Crannis said.

Self added a presentation by Officer Mike Albert and his drug-detection dog, a Belgian malinois named Chesty, and a presentation by members of the Emergency Response Team.

He also changed the way participants learn about radar.

Before, people would pile into a bus to watch officers run a radar system. Now, one or two students get in the car with a police officer who is on the road.

"They actually take you out in the cars and we actually pulled people over," Pinard-Stivachtis said. "You get to experience some of that adrenaline rush of actually pulling people over."

Students in the class get a chance to ride along with an officer during his or her regular shift. They get a look at the drugs, alcohol and weapons stored in the police department's evidence room and tour the Montgomery County Jail.

And then, of course, there are the guns.

Firearms night is always a hit with participants, Self said. They spend three hours at the department's firing range, where -- with the supervision of several officers -- they get the chance to shoot a .22-caliber pistol, two .40-caliber pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Bushmaster rifle.

Hardly anyone misses firearms night, Self said.

Aside from shooting officers' guns, Stan Norris, another member of the academy, said his favorite part of the class has been hearing officers' anecdotes.

"Just being able to connect with these guys," he said, "other than 'That's just the guy driving down the street.' "

Norris, a mortgage banker for Prosperity Mortgage, said he has learned from the class that he doesn't have the disposition to be a police officer.

"I have the utmost respect for these guys and the amount of patience -- or discretion -- they show," Norris said.

Some class members have said they are surprised by how candid officers have been, talking openly about bad situations they've gotten into or the goings-on at the police department.

Officer Van Speese, a 20-year veteran of the department, died at home in early September. His funeral was scheduled for the same day as the first class of this academy session, which has only two classes remaining.

The academy went forward and officers, including the chief, made no secret about the fact that they were devastated by Speese's death. Officers have talked about Speese, who in the past had taught participants how he did his job as an evidence technician, during several different classes.

Officers also have talked openly about cases they have worked -- as long as the cases aren't open.

"We completely open up everything for everyone to see," Self said. "You're going to see firsthand exactly what we do here."