MID-WILSHIRE : Explorers Find a World of Challenge

Every Thursday night, a group of 25 youths walks into the Wilshire Division police station roll-call room, and the officers throw the book at them.

It’s not the penal code that the youths get hit with, however. It’s law enforcement manuals that the group of Explorer Scouts study as part of a Boy Scouts of America program.

For some, the police Explorers program is a chance at firsthand exposure to a potential career. For others, it’s a way to keep out of trouble. But everyone agrees it is a challenging experience that builds character and teaches discipline.

The Explorers first endure a weeklong boot camp, said Officer Ken Roybal, who has run the Wilshire Explorer Post for five years. Conducted at the Police Academy in Elysian Park, the training camp teaches the recruits basic police work puts them through a physical training program including running and calisthenics. After passing the academy program, they are given uniforms and cloth badges.

The Explorer Scout program, open to anyone 14 to 21 years old, began in the early 1950s as a way for youths to learn about careers. Today, 4,900 Explorers in the Los Angeles area are getting a look at such fields as firefighting, emergency medical treatment and engineering.

Each of the city’s 18 police divisions has an Explorer post. At the weekly meetings, Explorers learn about constitutional law, how to make an arrest, how to administer first aid and how to handle the more mundane--paperwork. As part of the program, the Explorers do odd jobs around the police station such as answering phones, washing cars and filing records. They also help with crowd control at events such as the Los Angeles Marathon and the Christmas parade in Hollywood.

Ignacio Roman, 15, who joined the group six months ago, said the program has taught him discipline and honesty.

“It helps me in school, too,” said Roman, a 10th-grader at Reseda High School who lives in the Mid-City area. “The other day, a kid tried to get in a fight with me, but I just relaxed. I mentally calmed down and thought before I acted.”

The Explorers are not paid, but they are rewarded every year with an all-expense-paid summer trip. Past vacations have included hiking, horseback riding and camping in Arizona, Nevada and Lake Tahoe.

At a recent Explorer meeting in the Wilshire Division, guest speaker Sgt. Larry Poehls pulled out four unloaded handguns. “The most important thing I will teach you tonight is simple. It’s one word: safety, “ Poehls said.

The Explorers scribbled in black notebooks as Poehls explained how to pass a gun to another person, how to aim and how to load. Throughout the hourlong lecture, Poehls asked the students what was most important about handling a gun. And in unison, they shouted, “Safety!”

After the meeting, 18-year-old George Crespo, a Koreatown resident who is the highest-ranking Explorer in the Wilshire contingent, dismissed the group. Crespo, a four-year Explorer veteran who wants to be a police officer, credits his acceptance by Cal State Los Angeles in part from lessons learned in Explorer classes.

“This keeps you busy. There’s a lot expected from you, so there’s no time to be out on the streets,” said Crespo, who holds the Explorer rank of lieutenant.

Roybal said that, for him, the Explorer program is a chance to make a difference in young person’s life.

“The purpose is not to see them become police (officers),” Roybal said. “It’s about making them successful in life in whatever they do.”

Information: (213) 485-6809.