Police, Fire Academy Educates Local Youth

Youth from Novi and surrounding communities got a first-hand look at some of the daily tasks of a police officer this week at the ’ Youth Academy.

The free course, which ran from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday this week, is meant to educate youth about what it means to be a police officer or firefighter and how police and fire services impact the community.

Instructors spoke to the 37 students about topics such as patrol operations, the use of force, traffic stops and laws, the judicial system and more. The Fire Department offered instruction in the areas of department operations; home, fire and emergency safety; CPR; the Jaws of Life and fire fighting equipment.

“This program is great because it gives these kids an idea of what goes on in an officer’s day, and helps them to build relationships with the officers in their community,” said Todd Anger, a Novi Police Department detective. “They also learn that real life is not much like what they see on TV shows like CSI. If it were, our jobs would be pretty easy, because every crime would be solved in a hour.”

junior Marina Gonthier said she signed up for the academy to learn about how the police department trains officers. She said her favorite part was seeing how a taser gun worked. All the attendees got to try a disabled gun.

“I would definitely recommend this program to my friends,” she said. “I've learned a lot!”

Thirteen-year-old West Bloomfield resident Jeremy Ratinaud also enjoyed the academy.

“My Mom told me this would be fun, and it really is!” he said. “I learned that police officers can only use their guns in specific situations, and that they don’t often use everything they carry. That was interesting to me.”

An Inside Look at the K-9 and CSI Units

On Thursday afternoon at the academy, the Novi Police discussed its K-9 program, and the attendees met one of Novi’s canine officers: Moose.

Officer Shawn Penzak told the youth that his dog Moose is his partner, just as other officers have human partners. Penzak raised Moose from a pup, and the two have worked together for the past five years. When not working, Moose lives with Penzak.

According to Penzak, dogs like Moose have three essential jobs: narcotic detection, tracking people and evidence, and protection. The dogs also offer assistance in apprehending suspects.

“One of the toughest things about being a canine handler is to remember that the dog is smarter than you are,” said Penzak.

Earlier on Thursday, Anger taught the youth about Novi’s crime scene investigation unit and showed photos of actual crime scenes to the attendees.

“I signed up because I thought this might teach me some things, and it’s been exciting to learn new stuff and to see what police officers do every day,” said Dakota Isaacsen, a 13-year-old from Commerce Township.  “The crime scene photos, though, were pretty gross!”