SHREWSBURY – In front of an Oak Middle School auditorium filled with friends and family, dozens of seventh- and eighth-grade students became the first graduates of the Shrewsbury Police Youth Academy on July 14.
The week-long academy, run by the Shrewsbury Police Department, gave dozens of “student officers” an intensive look at all facets of policing. Fifteen full-time police officers guided the participants through “vigorous physical conditioning, hours of classroom teaching,” and different character building exercises.
Not all activities were pleasant, but not one student dropped out of the program.
“Today is a really great day,” said Officer Alicia Brownell, the academy director who coordinated the program. “It’s the day we get to recognize all the hard work and dedication our student officers put in throughout the week. By no means did the drill staff make this week easy on anybody.”
Student officers participated in numerous activities during their week at the academy.
As part of their training, students learned about constitutional law, crime scene processing, and handcuffing techniques. The participants had the opportunity to tour the police station, ride the marine boat, earn CPR certification, and watch a taser demonstration.
Other activities included learning how to properly march and salute, using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to track the speed of cars on Maple Avenue, working with Marlborough canine officer Mieko and using the state-of-the-art MILO (Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives) firearm tracking system.
On July 13, youth officers went outside and tried on visual impairment goggles meant to emulate inebriation. Students attempted to pedal around obstacles with the goggles, but couldn’t navigate without plowing into traffic cones. The goggled students didn’t perform too well on the field sobriety tests either.
Over the course of the academy, students were taught three core values: respect, integrity, and discipline.
“They not only got stronger, but you can see the change in all the student officers – especially when it comes to the embodiment of our core values,” Brownell said.
“Our student officers have educated us with their resilience, drive, sharp intellects, and insightful questions,” Police Chief Kevin Anderson added. “I’d like to commend each and every [student officer] for [their] dedication.”
Anderson first sought to institute an academy for younger students when he interviewed to be police chief.
“At the onset of my tenure as chief, I envisioned an academy of this nature as an impactful way to connect with the youth in the community we serve and build long-lasting relationships with the student officers and their families,” he said at the graduation ceremony.
The program, which was inspired by the Marlborough Police Department’s annual youth academy, was initially delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but went forward this year after extensive planning.
“I’d like to thank the academy staff, the student officers, the families, and the local community for making this Shrewsbury Police Youth Academy an absolute success,” Anderson said.
Although this group was the first to graduate from the youth academy, they won’t be the last. The police department will welcome another cohort of students at the start of August. The new students will be high-school-aged, and will round out the first year of the program.
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