Select Douglas County adults will be offered a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the local sheriff’s office, as part of the agency’s first Citizen’s Academy.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday announced it is taking applications for the academy, which will give participants hands-on and classroom instruction about accident investigations, field sobriety testing, building searches, drug recognition, K-9 handling, patrol driving and firearms. Tours of the jail and sheriff’s office will also be given.

“Sheriff Ken McGovern has had a long-standing goal of providing a Citizen’s Academy for the residents of Douglas County,” said Steve Lewis, spokesman for McGovern, who was elected sheriff in 2004. “His hope is that this and future academies will build a greater public awareness of the essential role the sheriff’s office plays in serving the community.”

The academy begins March 25 and concludes June 3, meeting between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursdays. The class will meet at the same time on Wednesday, March 31, instead of Thursday, April 1.

Applicants must be 18 or older and can obtain applications at the sheriff’s office, jail, or online, at dgso.org, under the services tab. Applications are due March 11.