By Staff
Special to The Standard
The fourth class of The Youth Police Academy graduated 30 students on Friday, July 23, after completing a week of law enforcement training. The Academy is sponsored by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Brewton Police Department and Jefferson Davis Community College. The Academy was a five day-four night camp designed to give boys and girls, ages 12-17, a brief glimpse into the field of law enforcement. Students received some of the same type of training that officers receive in the real Police Academy.
The Academy was held on the campus of Jefferson Davis Community College and began on Monday, July 19. Students stayed in the Lakeview Apartments, which are owned by JDCC, with members of the Academy staff. Students received training in several law enforcement related topics including firearm safety, officer safety techniques, crime scene investigations, latent fingerprint technology, illegal drug identification and abuse consequences, K-9 demonstrations, SWAT techniques, alcohol abuse prevention and many others.
Academy Instructors were law enforcement officers from various agencies including the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Brewton Police Department, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Florida, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, 21st Judicial Drug Task Force, Escambia County Domestic Violence Crime Unit, Alabama Department of Corrections and others.