About 50 Slidell area high school students, some accompanied by their parents, came to an orientation meeting Tuesday night at the Slidell Auditorium to find out about joining the Slidell Police Department’s Explorer Post 268.

Police Chief Freddy Drennan and Officer Philip Coleman have wanted to start such a program for a while now. The Police Explorers would be a way to give young people interested in law enforcement, a taste of what it is like to be a police officer.

Coleman, who was a Police Explorer in Picayune, Miss. for three years, said the program is also a way to teach teens leadership skills and build character while getting some hand-on experience from real police officers.

Slidell Police Officer Nicholas Knight, right, shows several Slidell teens some of the weapons used by SWAT officers. The teens are interested in joining the Police Explorers program. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

“It’s really hard to find good police officers, and the Explorers is a good way to start training people to go into law enforcement,” Coleman said.

The Explorers are a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, and was started in the 1950s to teach life skills and careers to teens said Tracy Jones, Field Director for the Southeast Louisiana Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He said that any occupation or career could be turned into an Explorers program. He said Police Explorers is not new, and that there are several such posts in Jefferson and St. Charles parishes.

“But this will be the first Police Explorer post on the Northshore,” Jones said.

Coleman, a school resource officer at Slidell High School, told the teens that if accepted, they would learn the history of law enforcement, patrol procedures, criminal and juvenile law, ethics, first aid, community relations, and firearm safety. There would also be activities involving crime scene investigating, touring the courts and jails, and other field trips.

Explorers would also have to build up volunteer time by sitting in the communications center, working in the records department, and going along with police officers on patrols and security details at parades and fairs.

Despite all that, Coleman said that Explorers were not going to be involved in any real police work. That is, they cannot make arrests, interview suspects or witnesses or participate in high-risk situations like pursuits and searches. Also, no Explorer will be allowed to carry a firearm or any other sort of weapon.

“You will only have a flashlight,” Coleman said. “You will learn how law enforcement is done, but you cannot actually do it.”

It is not easy to get into Post 268. There is a three-page application to fill out, which is similar to a job application. A potential Explorer must maintain a “C” average or higher in school.

“If you have poor grades, you don’t need the extra-curricular distraction,” Coleman said.

Also, a candidate cannot have a criminal record or a history of serious discipline problems in school. The program is open to any person between the ages of 14 and 20. Coleman said the dues would be $30 a year. There may be an added expense for a uniform, but he will get input from the first Explorers on what kind of uniform they want.

Coleman wants to start the first meeting of the post in the first week of October, so there is a Sept. 24 deadline to hand in the application. This will give police time enough to run a background check on all applicants.

Most of the teens seemed eager to apply for the program after the orientation.

“I’ve wanted to be a cop since I was in seventh grade,” said Slidell High student Dorian Campbell. His brother is a cop, and Campbell plans to join the military and be in the military police.

Other students, like Slidell High student Makayla Collins think that it would be a good way to find out if she likes law enforcement as a career.

“I’m thinking about keeping my options open,” Collins said.

Applications can be picked up from any School Resource Officer at Salmen, Slidell and Northshore high schools, and also at St. Tammany and Slidell junior high schools. Also applications are available from the Chief of Police’s office at 212 Third Street in Slidell.