The Marietta Police Department offers a ride-along program to allow citizens to observe officers performing their duties. To participate in the ride-along program, a citizen must meet the following criteria (per SOP A036):

• Be at least 18 years of age (unless approved by the chief of police or participating in the Marietta Police Department Explorer program and approved by that program for a ride-along)
• Have no felony convictions, narcotics convictions or any unacceptable misdemeanor convictions as determined by the chief of police or his designee
• Complete a criminal history authorization form
• Complete a ride-along request form that outlines rules of the program
• Complete a waiver of liability form
• While a police officer's family member may participate in this program, as a general rule no family member may ride-along with an employee who is their spouse, child, parent, sibling, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, step-child, step-parent, legal guardian or any relative or dependent living in the employee's household
• No ride-along will act as a police agent in any manner while participating in this program (i.e., interviewing, physical confrontations, etc.)
• No weapons such as firearms, batons, O.C. spray, etc. will be carried by a ride-along participant, except for representatives of Georgia (P.O.S.T. Certified) or federal law enforcement agencies

A few things to remember as a ride-along:

• The ride-along is for a maximum of four hours
• The officer will not participate in a vehicle pursuit while you are in the patrol vehicle.
• The officer will not subject you to unnecessary dangers that can be avoided such as riots, armed confrontations, etc.
• As a ride-along you may not enter a private residence or any other areas with an expectation of privacy