{"id":10052,"date":"2026-04-27T20:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=10052"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:35:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:35:14","slug":"citizens-police-academy-offers-behind-the-scenes-look-at-tpd-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2026\/04\/27\/citizens-police-academy-offers-behind-the-scenes-look-at-tpd-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizen’s Police Academy offers behind-the-scenes look at TPD tech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2013 The Troy Police Dep<\/a>a<\/a>rtment<\/a> (TPD) continued its Citizen’s Police Academy Thursday evening by offering a look at the technology its officers use to investigate and solve crimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the academy\u2019s fifth session, officers\u00a0explained how tools like drones and cameras are used in real-world investigations.\u00a0TPD\u00a0Detective Colton Johnson\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0how drones\u00a0assist\u00a0officers in the field, particularly in situations involving missing persons or fleeing suspects.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the practical uses of drones we talked about would be tracking a suspect,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIf someone flees into a wooded area, we can deploy a drone, get an overview and help officers apprehend that suspect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CITIZEN’S ACADEMY COVERAGE: Citizen’s Police Academy talks emergency response<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also use our drones for crime and crash scene documentation to capture photographs and videos. The use of our drones varies depending on the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPD Detective Michael O\u2019Hara showcased the use of the OSCR360 camera system, which captures detailed images of crime scenes. The technology allows investigators to create visual presentations that can later be used in court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe system allows me to take a 360-degree picture of a crime scene,\u201d O\u2019Hara said. \u201cAfter that, I can embed additional photos or videos into a presentation to help a jury better understand what evidence we collected and what crime was committed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For participants like Brent O\u2019Hara, Detective O\u2019Hara\u2019s father, the demonstrations provided a new perspective on modern policing. O\u2019Hara, who has attended all five sessions of the academy, said the drone technology stood out the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very interested in the drone,\u201d O\u2019Hara said. \u201cSeeing the thermal imaging and how it can track people was amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard a lot about drones over the past few years and to actually see one and hear a presentation on one was very educational.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although advanced technology plays a growing role in investigations,\u00a0TPD\u00a0emphasized that it does not replace traditional police work.\u00a0Instead,\u00a0technology\u00a0serves\u00a0as an extension of investigative skills, helping\u00a0the department\u00a0work more efficiently and effectively in the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The citizens police academy will conclude April 30 with its final session, where participants will take part in a firearms training simulator at the Troy University Police Department. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2013 The Troy Police Department (TPD) continued its Citizen’s Police Academy Thursday evening by offering a look at the technology its officers use to investigate and solve crimes. <\/p>\n

During the academy\u2019s fifth session, officers\u00a0explained how tools like drones and cameras are used in real-world investigations.\u00a0TPD\u00a0Detective Colton Johnson\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0how drones\u00a0assist\u00a0officers in the field,…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":10079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1125],"tags":[3060,3062,3061,1597],"topics":[1588],"class_list":["post-10052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-citizens-police-academy","tag-tpd-colton-johnson","tag-tpd-michael-ohara","tag-troy-police-department","topics-local-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10052"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10078,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10052\/revisions\/10078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10052"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=10052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}