The Kerrville Police Department honored the 12th Citizen Police Academy graduating class with a special ceremony on Tuesday, April 23rd at 6 p.m. at Rails - A Café at the Depot restaurant. The ceremony honored 23 community members who participated in the program.

The Citizen Police Academy is designed to give the public a working knowledge of the Kerrville Police Department through comprehensive classroom instruction, demonstration, tours, and hands-on activities.

Program Coordinators, Officer Paul Gonzales and Lt. Mary Krebs, Chief John M. Young Jr., Assistant Chief David Knight, Lieutenants Curtis Thomason and Phil Engstrom congratulated the graduates, their friends and family. Each graduate received a certificate of completion along with a class photograph.

"Congratulations, I thank each of you for taking the time to participate in the Citizen Police Academy and for becoming a vital part of the police department and community!" said Police Chief John M. Young Jr., as he addressed the graduating class.

"We wish to express our sincere gratitude to all of the instructors that endured our in-depth questioning of every aspect of their duties and responsibilities. We are grateful to the Department for welcoming us into your family of dedicated police officers so that we could experience a mere taste of the many complexities of your jobs. Because you did open your doors to us, we come away with a new knowledge of your department that qualifies us to go away after this evening as ambassadors of the department in our communities.” said Citizen Academy graduate and Class President Don Fuller.

The next Citizen Police Academy starts August 2013, but space is limited and fills up quickly. Find out more about the academy and how to sign up at: www.kerrvilletx.gov/police