Police to show youth what it takes to be a cop
Delaware County police departments in the inner-ring suburbs are working to improve relationships with their communities, and they are starting with the kids.
Delaware County police departments in the inner-ring suburbs are working to improve relationships with their communities, and they are starting with the kids.
Eleven Delaware County departments are joining forces to hold three different Youth Police Academies, where participants will learn what it takes to become a cop, from basic physical requirements to how to investigate a crime scene.
"Police departments need to get into their community and make sure they are not disconnected," said Robert Smythe, police chief of Darby Borough.
Sheila Carter, president of the Darby-area NAACP, first thought of the idea, said Smythe. Carter, a former Darby Township police officer, wanted to prevent a situation such as the one in Ferguson, Mo., in which a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old unarmed black man.
At a meeting with area police chiefs, the decision was made to build upon what already had worked in Upper Darby Township and Darby Borough - police academies.
"It is a home run," said Michael J. Chitwood, Upper Darby superintendent of police. "People love it."
In 2009, Upper Darby began its Citizen's Police Academy for adults, which has held 12 classes and graduated 161 people. It also runs a Coffee with a Cop program, movie night, and has 40 officers involved in fifth-grade mentoring programs in the township's public and parochial schools.
Carter said local politicians, township managers, and two churches joined in the discussions and embraced the vision for a youth police academy.
They suggested the departments join together, and that would have added benefit of drawing residents from different communities and be more cost-effective, she said.
Additional topics will include basic first aid and information on how fire and ambulance companies operate.
"It's not just about police work," said Daniel Donegan, police chief of Lansdale. "It is almost like a safety course."
The three separate academies plan to hold a joint graduation ceremony during National Police Week in the second week of May, Smythe said.
Smythe said that goals include an adult police academy and an advanced academy for kids who want to continue learning.
Carter has even bigger plans.
"We are going to have police officers go to the school and have breakfast or lunch with a cop," she said. She also wants to see officers attend high school sporting events while off-duty just to have more of a connection with teens. She also hopes to revive the Police Athletic Leagues.
"What we are trying to do is change the opinion of local police," she said.In an area with many African American residents but few black police officers, Carter said she hoped some of those attending the youth academies would look at law enforcement as a potential career.
Schedule of Youth Police Events
The police departments at Sharon Hill, Folcroft, and Collingdale Boroughs and Darby Township have scheduled a youth police academy for fifth graders. It is set to start March 11 and run for six to eight weeks every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Folcroft Fire House Hall on Delmar Drive.
The departments at Aldan, Clifton Heights, East Lansdowne, and Lansdowne Boroughs have scheduled an eight-week academy for 13- to 17-year-olds, starting March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. To download an application, visit www.elpd.org. For more information, call 610-259-2308.
The departments at Darby, Yeadon, and Colwyn Boroughs have scheduled an eight-week academy for 12- to 17-year-olds, It is scheduled to start Thursday and run from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information, call 610-586-1102 or e-mail jtheorgood@gmail.com.
- Mari Schaefer
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610-313-8111
@MariSchaefer