Why is Your Department Doing This

Why (is your department doing this)?

Why? As in, why are you hosting a Junior Police Academy?

Your answer is important as it will influence your answers to all the other questions. You are creating a road map, but let’s get specific about why you are going somewhere in the first place?

STARTING WITH THE END IN MIND It calls to mind a statement recently shared with me by Sgt. Robert Goetz, whom I suspect might actually derive enjoyment from crafting a comprehensive plan.

15

When I asked him the secret to creating the perfect plan, he suggested that “logistics is simply the art of starting with the end in mind."

Imagine your final destination for a moment. And again, be specific. The more detailed you are, the more accurate your map.

Ask what would be the best possible result of my hosting a JPA.

“THE ART OF STARTING

WITH THE END IN MIND.”

OPTIMISTIC OUTCOMES Think in terms of outcomes. Be optimistic. Imagine the final day of your academy. Who is there? Your cadets of course, but who else?

Are the cadet's parents there? Is the media?

Even if your academy has no culminating event, you should still consider what impact you hope for. What do the cadets, parents, members of the community know now that they did not

16

JPA Advisory Council member Sgt. Robert Goetz describes logistics.

know before? How have your cadet's attitude towards policing changed or been enlightened?

For the purposes of this manual, let's imagine: Graduation day. All your cadets are lined up holding a graduation certificate. Their parents and family members fill the auditorium clapping in recognition of their achievement.

Students who previously knew little if anything about law enforcement now feel a proud connection to your department, your profession and to you.

Both cadets and parents have a new or better understanding of public safety and exemplify the kind of citizens who make for better, safer communities.

That is an ideal, but certainly not beyond the realm of possibility – I have attended several JPA graduation ceremonies that met all the above criteria.

Once you have an ideal outcome in mind, you work backwards, approaching each of the remaining questions using a consistent framework or goal.

17

Think Why? Every JPA emphasizes meaning over technique.

Instructors ultimately link police procedure to its intended purpose in promoting justice and the rule of law and freedom – the foundations of society.

Focusing on the “WHY”, rather than the “HOW” can move young people to a richer understanding of a law enforcer’s role in society.

What is the value of these materials?

What distinguishes a JPA Cadet from other students?

Every instructor should answer these questions for themselves before conducting a class. The answers are essential to successfully presenting the material in this Workbook.

Exploring “why” broadens the cadet’s definition of a law enforcer to include peacemaker and lifeline to those in peril.

Upon completing the program, Junior Police Academy Cadets are presented with a “Certificate,” but just what does a Junior Police Academy education mean?

18

Consider for a moment this definition of a graduating cadet: • A graduating Cadet is not ready to patrol the street…

• but they do appreciate the commitment and dedication a law enforcer needs to face the streets each day.

• Proficiency with firearms is not part of a Cadet’s training…but they do understand the absolute necessity of a police officer wearing a weapon.

• Cadets cannot cite case law with the skill of a lawyer… but they do recognize the value of a precise penal code, applied justly and fairly to all.

• Cadets have not known stress and uncertainty of stopping a speeding motorist on a lonely highway at two o’clock in the morning…

• but they do understand why no-nonsense, by-the-book traffic stops are not mere theatrics, but a lawman’s protocol for staying alive.

• The Junior Police Academy Cadet – not licensed law enforcement officers, but lifelong defenders of a noble profession.

19

"YOUNG PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT POLICE OFFICERS DO AND WHY THEY DO IT. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN A COMMUNITY. BUT WHEN WE TAKE THE MYSTERY OUT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES AND POLICIES – YOUNG PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE AND THEIR ROLE IN SOCIETY IS TRANSFORMED"

Officer Mitchell Garcia, Houston Police Department