Police teaching Albany citizens about the job

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Albany Police Department held its first 2025 Citizen Police Academy class of spring on Wednesday evening. 14 students, ranging in ages and career backgrounds, showed up to bridge the gap some feel between police officers and their community.

“We want everyone that comes here to understand that we’re not really different community members. We’re all a part of the same community. We’re just doing a certain job. We help bridge that gap,” stated Patrick Standford, Training Unit Officer.

This isn’t the same academy that recruits attend. The community members participating here can ask questions during lessons and possibly be inspired to take on the career.

“I do want to continue it further but I don’t know if there’s kind of like any kind of loophole to go through being for my age so I am still kind of figuring it out,” said Matthew Lee, a security guard.

The night started with all 14 students getting to know each other and a history lesson.

“During the Roman era, we had the Vigiles of Rome. The Vigiles originally began as firefighters and Rome had a lot of crime. They began serving almost as a patrolling police force too, in addition to these firefighting duties,” explained Lieutenant Bart Cohen.

Some of the students NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski talked to said they weren’t interested in becoming officers. Because they’ve interacted with police for many reasons, they look forward to classroom discussions.

“We work with chronic homeless individuals, both on the street and housed so we do have a lot of interaction with the Albany Police Department. If they learn how passionate I am about all of my individuals then maybe they can build that compassion a little more,” described Ashley Celebucki, a program manager at Joseph’s House & Shelter.