O.C. Academy Set for Record Class of Police Explorers

A record number of youths are expected to attend the Orange County Police Explorer Academy for a weekend filled with grueling exercises and classes on law enforcement.

The four-day event is expected to draw 200 Explorers, ages 14 to 21, who want a career in law enforcement.

“We want to give these kids some basic training in law enforcement because the job can be difficult, both physically and mentally,” said Sgt. Dave Walker, director of the academy.

After settling in at their quarters at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, the Explorers will attend orientation and then have dinner at the mess hall. In the evening, there will be a series of basic drills such as push-ups and sit-ups before midnight bedtime.

That’s when the fun really begins.

Sgt. Walker said that the drill instructors “have been known to wake the Explorers at 2 a.m. and make them run a mile or two and then let them go back to bed.”

The participants are then awakened at 6 a.m. for more running and exercises followed by breakfast and classes on law enforcement, such as officer safety, arrests, narcotics, ethics and K-9 units.

Such will be the tone of their entire stay.

Walker said the program, usually a biannual event chartered through the Boy Scouts of America, was canceled last July because the base was not available. That led to the large crowd this time.

The Explorers supplement staffing for police departments in such areas as parades and other large gatherings when they are short on officers.

Twenty-six police agencies from Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are expected to take part in the event. Volunteers from the departments donate their time to run the academy and teach the classes.