Forks Youth Learn Law Enforcement

Brooks Kranich is almost through a week of extremes.

The Forks Township Police Department's community resources officer is checking the skies for more rain Thursday afternoon as the 10th annual weeklong Summer Youth Police Academy gets ready to wrap up after one more day.

Since Monday, about 26 children have spent every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. learning about police work and the work of other law enforcement and emergency duties.

This week, with heat indexes topping the 100-degree mark and some afternoon showers, Kranich was able to use the township's fire station for activities.

The group has heard from representatives of the state Game Commission and the juvenile probation department and got a chance to experience the effects of drunken driving through a simulator and from wearing fatal vision goggles.

On Friday's plate is the Lehigh County Corrections Department and Allentown's Emergency Management Team.

But Thursday afternoon, the program is dedicated to a motorcycle demonstration.

Patrolman Trevor Beruta, one of two officers on the Forks department's traffic division, shows off his motorcycle, a cool "tool" that enables him to maneuver around accidents and get into a lot of areas that vehicles cannot.

The bike has a blaring siren "louder than most police cars" and a lot of bright lights that gets 58 miles per gallon and allows him to be hidden from most vehicles.

Beruta uses the motorcycle for many traffic citations, especially handing out speeding tickets.

He demonstrated how to do figure eights on his bike and ran through an obstacle course for the group.

"I love my job," he said. "I love being out doing what i'm doing, on the streets, in the park and on the bike trails," said Beruta, whose shifts runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kranich has run the program for five of its 10 years.

"It's worked out pretty well," he said. "This is a good group of kids. This is my hardest week of the year. It's labor intensive with planning and preparation, but every year it gets easier."