For information about applying to next year’s academy, contact the Fayetteville police department at 770-461-4441, or visit www.fayetteville-ga.gov.
When the discussion turns to juvenile gang violence, it’s not usual to hear the city of Fayetteville mentioned. That may be because the city is proactive about keeping its youth focused on school and community. One program that supports that initiative is the Junior Policy Academy, held each summer for the last 11 years as an outreach to kids moving into middle and high school.
“I’ve noticed disruption in kids’ lives about the age they get to middle school,” said Scott Israel, the city’s juvenile and gang detective with 23 years of law enforcement expertise. “They’re trying to fit in, their bodies are changing, they’re subject to a lot of negative influences. We wanted to do something at the age when we felt we could have the biggest impact by giving them something else to focus on other than joining a bad crowd.”
During last week’s intensive session, 20 youngsters spent eight hours each day learning what an officer’s job entails and trying their hand at a variety of activities and team-building sessions. Along with first aid and CPR techniques, the kids learned about juvenile law, defensive tactics, the appropriate use of force and how to investigate a crime scene.
“We used to get a lot of boys, but in the last couple of years, it’s been half-boys, half-girls, I think largely because of the CSI stuff,” said Israel. “But everyone liked trying on the ‘drunk goggles’ to see what happens when people drink and drive. They can’t even stack cans or throw a ball. They also like when I climb into a thick wrestler’s suit, and they get to fight me.”
One of the highlights of this year’s academy was a session on firearms. Using simunitions, a low-impact paint ball gun, the kids shot at paper targets and learned about weapons safety.
“It really felt and sounded like a real gun,” said Zeke Macpherson, 15, a rising freshman at Newnan High School. “I want to become a SWAT team member, so I liked that. We also had an obstacle course that was pretty cool, even when I had to run it in the SWAT uniform.”
Zeke’s twin, Zach, also attended the academy and was struck by the work performed by the police canine units.
“It surprised me to see what the dogs do and how they train them,” said Zach. “We learned how long they can stay out, how they sniff things out and the different kinds of dogs they use.”
Israel said he’s aware of other law enforcement departments that offer similar programs for kids, but he believes Fayetteville’s is one of the few that gets kids out of the classroom and involves them in a lot of physical activity.
“I know of some that are held at night during the school year, but we like to have it during the summer when we can do different things like the team-building activities. And we know it’s popular; students had to apply, have good grades and write some paragraphs about why they wanted to attend. We only took 20, and we had a waiting list.”
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