Who will be your cadets?

The decision of which grade you will target is an important one. JPA has been successfully offered in both high school and middle school settings. One strategy is to offer the program to students during their first year on a middle school campus so they can more quickly become mentors and student leaders through the remainder of middle school and throughout high school.

Another strategy is to enroll both high school and middle school students (only really feasible in a summer camp setting) allowing the older cadets to be a positive role model to the younger cadets.

Recruit your Cadets!

Depending on the type of program you offer, the recruitment of cadets may or may not be a pivotal issue. This year, at Murchison Middle School in Austin, Texas for instance, the program had more than 400 applicants to fill the thirty available openings for next semester.

Typically the process of enrollment becomes easier as the program becomes more established. But that first year can be challenging.

When the time comes to recruit your cadets, a word of caution: work out all the program details before you make your pitch. Kids ask questions — don’t be caught off guard.

It might also help to take along promotional materials. Check out JPA’s new recruitment video and poster. The national office will even help you with artwork should you wish to have a custom banner made for the occasion.

SMALL TOWN STRATEGY

Here is some detailed advice from Officer Gary Richards of the Temple Police Department in Texas. Gary was one of the first officers to offer the Junior Police Academy:

“Like many cities in Texas, Temple is somewhat of a nucleus for several smaller communities in the area.  Many of the people who live in the smaller towns work in Temple or at least spend a good deal of time there.  For that reason we decided to offer the Academy to students in all of the nearby high schools.  This may or may not be something you will want to try.  We ended up visiting approximately eleven high schools.  This gave us a larger pool of kids to choose from and increased our area of influence, but it also greatly increases the amount of time and travel needed for recruitment.

“The next step was to contact each school and develop a point of contact for our needs.  We then explained the purpose and goals of the academy and asked for the opportunity to speak to the students.  The vast majority of the school administrators welcomed us enthusiastically.

“We lucked out in a few cases and were asked to be speakers at Career Days.  If you get this opportunity make sure to take advantage of it.  Having the amount of time a career day provides allows you to get the students motivated and excited about law enforcement.  If you give a good presentation and then offer the academy at the end of the class you will usually be approached by several applicants.

“If you can’t be included in the career day then ask if it would be possible to speak to the kids during lunch.  Don’t try to speak to all of the students while they’re eating, but set up a table or booth where the kids can ask questions.

“Have a banner or sign to draw the kids attention and ask the office to make an announcement telling the students who you are and why you are there. Lunch time presentations are not like career days where you have a captive audience.  The presenter(s) must be personable and outgoing.  Many young people are still hesitant about approaching police officers.  It is our job to break down barriers and reach out to the youth.”

Officer Gary Richards, Temple Police Department (TX)

Make Your Case to Mom and Dad

In many cases it is the parents who take the lead in enrolling their kids. Throughout the year, make it a point to mention the Junior Police Academy whenever possible during presentations to community groups.

This is one area of the program that should not be overlooked. JPA provides your department with the opportunity to speak at public gatherings. The JPA provides community affairs officers a fresh approach to delivering a familiar message.

Tell members of the community about your experience as a law enforcement officer in teaching the program and getting to know the next generation of Americans. The older generation will always appreciate hearing that shared values are being cultivated in our youth.

The Pragmatic Pitch

Want to take a more practical approach when discussing the program? JPA’s mission can just as easily be defined in terms of it impact on crime.

Below we have paraphrased a statement originally made by Commissioner Ed Davis with the Boston Police Department. (The information about JPA was not part of his original statement,   but this does furnish a pragmatic justification community policing programs in general.)

Suggested statement by community police officer to coomunity group:

“CSI does not solve murder cases.”

“Ask any good homicide detective. They will tell you the same thing. You don’t catch the killer through CSI.  CSI is helpful. But the truth is homicides are solved and the bad guy is caught because you, the citizen, tells us who did it.”

“If people don’t trust us, then they will not tell us who did it, no matter what the case is.  Every encounter that they have can either make or break the reputation of the police department.  It can establish a good relationship or not with someone who may be a witness to a homicide, with someone who may hold information that is crucial to the biggest case that the police department works on in a particular time frame.”  

“Terrorism cases, homicide cases, kidnapping cases, they all hinge upon our ability to establish a trusting relationship with the community and getting that community to reach out to us when they have information.”

“That is why I am very proud to tell you about a program that helps build lines of communication between police and citizens like yourself. It’s called the Junior Police Academy and I encourage you support this important educational program.”

Two more thoughts regarding recruitment:

Momentum

Recruitment should be one of the last steps before starting the program. You do not want too many weeks to pass between a student signing up and the program’s start date.

Remember, you need to maintain momentum. A young person’s attention span is not in your favor!

Legal Matters

Most departments and school districts will insists that participating cadets have written permission from their parent or guardian along with a liability release form. JPA provides sample release forms that can be modified to your local requirements.HOW MANY

You will also need to consider the number of cadets each academy will accommodate. Typically somewhere between twenty and thirty is a good working number, consistent with the average size of a classroom.