Children learn how to be a police officer at Junior Police Academy in Waxahachie

During the month of July, the Waxahachie Police Department hosted its second annual Junior Police Academy for more than 60 children, opening its doors to laughter, excitement and education.

Community services officer James Taylor said the academy was split into three different weeks. The first week was offered to the children of police officers. The following two weeks were open to the public for third- through sixth-graders.

The academy ran Mondays to Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. On Wednesdays, the classes would finish at 2:30 p.m., when parents were welcomed into the station to watch a graduation ceremony for their young cadets. Each day the cadets would start with physical training outside, where they completed an obstacle course as well as various exercises. Taylor said they added pads to their K-9 obstacle course for the kids to safely complete it.

The rest of the day consisted of classes where the cadets learned about crime scene investigation, traffic stops, SWAT, internet safety for kids, K-9 officers, evidence processing, DFW airport K-9 officers and bomb squad, 911 dispatch, fingerprinting and more.

Taylor said one of the main things they focused on in the academy was teamwork. Each obstacle or activity had to be done by every child before anyone could move on to the next one, encouraging the cadets to work together and help one another out.

In one situation, Taylor explained how one child struggled to climb over an obstacle, so another one got onto his hands and knees to become a step stool. On the other side of the obstacle, another youth stood ready to help the struggling child down. “It was really impressive to see those kids work together,” Taylor said. “Very few of them knew each other prior to the class … and you could see the kids that would bond as they were going through the class.”

During the graduation ceremony Wednesday, each cadet received a certificate from Taylor and recited an oath. Taylor said he also showed a video full of photos from the week, to which the cadets reacted with lots of laughter.

Taylor said the academy allowed the children to understand more of what police officers do, and they worked to keep the days interactive. During classes, the cadets would have hands-on experience and earn candy for answering questions correctly. On Wednesdays, they played dodgeball with the police officers during their physical training session.

“It was tons and tons of laughs on both ends,” Taylor said. “They got to see that other side of police officers … there’s so much that the police department does outside of regular police work where we interact with the community.”

Throughout the day, the children received snacks and plenty of water sponsored by HEB Waxahachie and Candice Fincher with Onsite General Contracting LLC.

Taylor said he has big plans for next year and cannot wait to welcome cadets back into the station.

“I call it just a complete success, and I’m excited. I know the guys are already excited for next year,” Taylor said. Originally published August 15, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/education/children-learn-how-to-be-a-police-officer-at-junior-police-academy-in-waxahachie/article_f0e1da3e-1cc7-11ed-b757-53eb553536a2.html