For the first time in several years, the Troy Police Department had the opportunity and cause to host a R.A.D. course for women in Troy.

R.A.D. stands for Rape and Aggression Defense and is a way for women to learn how to properly defend themselves in any sort of situations. Sgt. Mike O’Hara said the department had been able to garner attention for the class this year after a concerned mother phoned in requesting the class for herself and her daughter who will soon be leaving for college.

Melanie Hamlin, the concerned mother, said she was thankful to have been able to see such a quick turnaround from the department in getting the course set up.

“It was on my checklist for things she needed to do before she leaves for college,” Hamlin said. “Obviously, it’s good to be able to protect yourself and your kids. I need to be able to protect myself and my kids. It’ll give me a little bit of confidence and probably give my son a little bit of confidence….In my experience with the Troy Police Department they have always been responsive to citizens in years past. They’ve offered a gun safety class…I’m very thankful.”

While the topic of discussion for the class is serious in nature, the First Baptist Church Activities Building was occasionally filled with laughter from class attendees. O’Hara said he liked to keep the classes light because he understood that sometimes learning the techniques and being lectured to could get boring.

“I try to keep the class interesting because sometimes the class can get very boring if it’s all lecture,” O’Hara said. “Then you can be very stressed out, so we try to keep everybody enjoying the class so they can take more in.”

Hamlin’s daughter, Taylor, was in attendance Tuesday night and said, like her mother, she was thankful the police department had been able to offer the class for women in the Troy community.

“Certainly, I want to be able to take care of myself, and one day I expect that I’ll have someone else to take care of so I’m trying to learn it all early,” Taylor said.

While the class will not finish until Thursday, O’Hara said he could already see a change in the women’s demeanor and hoped to continue seeing that change for the better.

“They’ve taken what they’ve learned from the manual and the lecture notes we went over as far as strategies to make your life safer, and they’re seeing how they can implement that into the techniques they’re learning tonight and how they all kind of tie together,” O’Hara said.