GREENSBORO, N.C. — Firearms, traffic stops, and physical training are just some of the many topics teens will explore in this year’s Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Youth Academy.
“The goal is to build structure and accountability,” Guilford County Sheriff Danny H. Rogers said.
Rogers said this is an exciting and engaging program that seeks to inspire youth toward a future in public safety by presenting subjects condensed from law enforcement officers’ training curriculum.
“(This is) allowing them to do a physical fitness piece of it,” Rogers said.
Starting June 28, teens will learn the basic function of a law enforcement agency over seven days.
“We do the driving task force pieces of it where they actually ride in the car with one of our DWI Tasks Force members," he said.
Rogers said this year’s program will have a special emphasis on opioid addiction and mental health.
“We see a lot of that, that we deal with,” he said. “We want them to make sure they understand it’s okay to want to talk and talk to somebody. If you need to talk to somebody it’s okay.”
Due to COVID-19, last year’s academy saw a dip in enrollment.
They had just over 20 youth in attendance, but with even more safety measures in place, Rogers hopes to double that number this year.
“Of course, we will continue to have the masks, social distance as we did last year,” he said. “The sanitizer and washing the hands.”
WFMY News 2’s Lauren Coleman asked why it’s important for youth to have exposure to the law enforcement field at a young age.
“I believe if we can reach them where they’re at in their lives, young and before they get too far gone, then I believe we can make a positive impact,” Rogers said. “We can actually bridge that gap between the community, youth, and law enforcement.”
Enrollment ends Friday, June 18.
A mandatory orientation meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 25 at 6 p.m.
Classes will be held at the GCSO Dist. 2 Office.
Some of the blocks of instruction include:
- Career Preparation/ Texting & Driving-DWI Prevention Education
- Firearms Simulator Training/ Armed Forces, FBI DEA Q&A
- Traffic Stops/Enforcement/ Police Chases
- Physical Fitness Training/ Introduction to Drill/Ceremonies
- Vehicle Accident Extraction Demo/ DWI Simulator
- Building Searches/ K-9 Demo
- SERT-- Sheriff Emergency Response Team/ Bomb Robot Demo
- Emergency Medical Services/ Mental Health