By Kim Steele
Bartlett Express Editor
Teens with an interest in pursuing a criminal justice career can get a hands-on introduction by enrolling in the Bartlett Police Department Youth Citizens Police Academy.
Applications are being accepted now for the free, one-week course that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 3-7. Class size is limited to 20 students who are 14-16 years old.
“This course may be the one thing that helps teens decide if they want to pursue criminal justice as a career,” said Bartlett Police Lt. Todd Halford. “I can’t think of one young person who has attended who didn’t find it enjoyable and very interesting. The course gives them a chance to see what we do.”
Halford said the academy is designed to increase youth’s understanding of law enforcement by education and interaction with members of the Bartlett Police Academy. Classes include demonstrations, discussions, practical exercises and student participation.
Participants will hear presentations by the gang unit, dispatch communications, the canine unit, traffic enforcement and patrol, DUI investigations, crime scene investigations, narcotics, special response team and felony investigations. Also, they will be allowed to shoot a gun at the firing range.
Halford said participants will get a chance to wear goggles that simulate the vision impairment of a drunken driver and steer a golf cart through an obstacle course. Halford said they will see that police work isn’t like what they watch on television.
Applications can be picked up at and returned to the Bartlett Station Municipal Center, 5868 Stage Road, or the Bartlett Justice Center, 3730 Appling Road. Also, they can be printed at the department’s website, www.bartlettpolice.org under Public Information and Education. The deadline is May 27.
For more information, call Halford at 901-385-5510.
