ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—For two dozen young Englewood Cliffs residents, the week of June 24 was unforgettable.
They were immersed in the Englewood Cliffs Police Department’s Junior Police Academy (JPA), a program in which they learned life skills and teamwork from leading professionals.
Candidates who apply for the JPA must be sixth-, seventh- or eighth-graders in good academic standing in the Englewood Cliffs Upper School. The program is headed by Lt. James Tracy with assistance from Sgt. Ron Waldt and close to a dozen other officers. All of the instructors volunteer their time.
According to Officer Sean Flannelly, the police officers enjoy the program as much as the kids do.
“I love interacting with the kids and seeing them grow in such a short time,” he said. “On day one, they don’t know how to march or how to get in line, and then you see how confident they become over the week.”
Lt. David HiIl agreed.
“I like this program because 100% of the kids give their all!” he said.
Throughout the intensive program, which ran from Monday to Friday, each recruit wore a custom navy blue T-shirt with their name on the back as well as a hat and shorts with the Englewood Cliffs JPA logo. Transportation and lunch were provided each day, including a celebratory pizza party on Friday to which parents were invited.
The base of operations for the program was the North Cliff School on Floyd Street in Englewood Cliffs.
Recruits were divided into four squads where they undertook team challenges and also strove for personal bests.
After a daily physical training session at 8 a.m., the week was filled with skills, drills and exciting field trips. Recruits were taught first aid and medical emergency procedures, and they were trained and certified in CPR. They learned offensive and defensive tactics from local police officers, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team showed them their state-of-the-art response vehicle, a BearCat armored truck full of equipment, such as a robot and a 50,000-volt taser. In another session, recruits watched bomb-sniffing dogs perform their skills.
During a visit to the cable news channel CNBC’s global headquarters on Sylvan Avenue, the recruits learned about the police and media relations.
In a tour of Englewood Cliffs’ police headquarters, they saw the jail and learned about processing. At the Bergen County Police Academy, they were shown firearms and were given a lecture about the dangers of opiates and drug abuse.
On another day, the group saw a demonstration by the Englewood Cliffs motorcycle unit and spoke with traffic enforcement officers. They then were bussed to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum where they were given a guided tour.
During two field trips that were as fun as they were educational, recruits tried indoor sky diving at iFLY and indoor rock climbing at High Exposure.
There were many other highlights of the week, including a ride on the Hudson River in a Palisades Interstate Park Marine Unit boat and the landing of a $14 million, 14,200-pound NorthSTAR Air Medical Helicopter in nearby Witte Field.
Although the JPA program officially ended on Friday, June 28, there will be a graduation dinner in the fall. At that event, recruits will receive their certificates and two special awards will be presented.
The PT Award will go to the recruit who exhibited the most energy, enthusiasm and best performance in physical training and/or to the person who couldn’t do all the pushups or other PT skills, but who tried their very best.
The second award is given in the name of the late James P. Colon, an Englewood Cliffs police officer who died of leukemia in 2008. Colon was known as a tremendous and extremely friendly neighborhood resident. This award will be given to the recruit who exhibits exceptional leadership, enthusiasm and good attitude.
Sgt. Waldt said, “It is always difficult to select just two recruits for these awards, because we have such a large pool of great kids.”
The Englewood Cliffs JPA got its start 11 years ago under then Police Chief Thomas Baurenschmidt in a collaborate effort with Borough Administrator Lisette Duffy. Englewood Cliffs was one of the first small towns to have a junior police academy. Other towns followed suit, with some even sending officers to Englewood Cliffs to get ideas on how to emulate their success.
According to Lt. Tracy, the JPA is funded “from donations, some of which are made by our own officers, and from money confiscated from illegal activities.”
The officers believe it’s money well spent.
“The JPA provides a great opportunity for parents and kids to get to know the police officers,” Sgt. Waldt said. “Our goal is to show them that we are mentors and that they can trust us to go to for help, assistance and guidance. Many times, I’ve had young adults come up to me years after they have graduated the JPA and say, ‘Hello Officer Waldt!’ The fact that they still remember me is very rewarding.”
Attesting to the popularity of the JPA, many of the recruits have come back year after year until they reach high school age (at which point they are no longer eligible to participate). A few have even stated their desire to pursue a career in law enforcement.
Twin brothers Zachery and Kyle gave the program high marks.
Zachery said, “It’s a lot of work but so much fun! I love the field trips.”
Kyle added, “We learned a lot of skills like CPR, and there was a great focus on team work. If one team got out of line, all the teams got a punishment, like having to do 10 pushups. Of course, that worked the other way as well. If one team did exceptionally well, we were all commended.”
One of just four girls in the program, recruit Theresa remarked, “The JPA motivated me to do things outside my comfort zone, like rock climbing. I was really scared to let go and rappel down the wall. But, then I did it, and it felt amazing!”
Conner, who has been coming back to the JPA for three years, was impressed with the instructors.
“These officers really care about us and they want the best for us. They exposed us to different things and taught us skills that will help us all throughout life. It was a great experience for all of us,” he said.
Recruit Jason adds, “I am so thankful to the police lieutenants, sergeants and officers for doing such a really great job teaching us things and getting us in shape. Everyone needs a little order in their life!”
