Junior Police Academy is Currently Enrolling

South Orange's Junior Police Academy is currently seeking rising local sixth, seventh and eighth graders for its week-long training session this summer.

The program—coordinated by Det. Mark Garrett—can accept about 25 students and has had a mix of boys and girls in its first two years. It runs from July 6-10 this year and is based at the Baird, though students go on field trips to the Essex County Police Academy—where they go through the driving and firearms simulations real cadets would train with—the county's Crime Scene Unit in East Orange, and the mounted police unit in Newark. Students get a crash course in local law enforcement and will also be visited by K-9 units from New Jersey Transit and the Sheriff's Department and by the Bomb Squad.

The South Orange Junior Police Academy is funded through private donations— unlike Maplewood's, which had been funded by the township and was canceled this year due to budget cuts. It's in third year and is dedicated to the memory of South Orange Police Officer Jason Thompson, who died in May 2006 after accidentally shooting himself while off duty.

According to Det. Steven Davenport, a firearms instructor for the program, Thompson's tragic death reinforces the importance of teaching gun safety.

"Even police officers sometimes are not safe with their firearms," he said.

Students in the program are divided into three groups and, by week's end, are expected to work as a team. They also attend a baseball game—either the Newark Bears or the New Jersey Jackals—and there's a physical fitness and calisthenics element.

The intensive training is also grueling for members of the police department.

"It's actually an exhausting week for us," said Garrett, who added that the mission of the program is to expose local schoolchildren to various areas of law enforcement and to develop a bond with them as members of the community.