MOSES LAKE — Applications have opened for the fourth annual Columbia Basin Multi-Agency Citizen Academy, which offers a chance for civilians to learn about law enforcement work from officers from across Grant County.

Officers from the Moses Lake, Ephrata and Quincy police departments, as well as the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, will take up to 30 students for instruction on a number of subjects, including the history of law enforcement and investigative techniques, plus experience with driving and shooting simulators, and tours of the jail and 911 dispatch center.

Though Moses Lake Police Chief Kevin Fuhr said he thinks participants will enjoy the simulators, learning what it’s like to have to manage a gun in tense situations, his favorite part is demonstration day, when gung-ho participants can volunteer to be at the business end of a stun gun or — with proper protection — a K9 officer.

“It’s a great opportunity for citizens to meet the officers that serve them, in all of the communities in Grant County,” Fuhr said, “It’s also a great way for citizens to learn what law enforcement deals with in Grant County, some of the crime trends in GC, and it gives citizens a lot of information to protect themselves and protect their property.”

Beyond being an opportunity to educate avid community members, the Citizen Academy allows local law enforcement agencies to form connections with the communities they serve and demystify some TV myths about the men and women in blue.

Participants in the citizens’ academy will meet on the campus of Big Bend Community College, 6-9 p.m., every Thursday from April 2 to May 21, along with two Saturday classes held from 9 a.m. to noon. Applications must be received no later than March 27.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, must have no prior felony or violent misdemeanor convictions and must not be the subject of any pending criminal investigation or the respondent of a no-contact or protection order.