Four years of fun

The Bergen County Youth Police Academy, a joint venture of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Bergen County Police Department, has been showing local youths between the ages of 12 and 17 what life as a public safety officer is like for the last four years. The two-week program, which combines classes, physical activities and field trips, is funded by the prosecutor’s office.

Local agencies such as the Hackensack Fire Department also donate their time to the program. Standing inside fire department headquarters on State Street while about 30 program participants went through a series of drills, Demetra Maurice, an assistant prosecutor in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and project coordinator, noted the positive impact of the program on partakers and planners alike.

"This is just a great day," Maurice said. "They did this for us last year for half a day, and the kids and the firemen loved it so much that they invited us back for a full day this year."

"Our purpose is to acquaint Bergen County teenagers with public service and county government in an educational, informative and fun way," continued Maurice.

"Every year, the program has a motto. This year’s motto is honor, respect and commitment. If these cadets, having explored different aspects of public service, want to pursue a career in that direction, that’s great. But if in the end they come out from this camp feeling as if they have accomplished something and have a greater sense of personal responsibility, that’s a home run for us."

One way to beat the heat

Among the exercises that the cadets performed at the Hackensack Fire Department was a pulley drill in which the kids slid down a wire stretching from a window three stories up to the ground below while firemen sprayed them with a hose. For Dan Caleca, 14, of Upper Saddle River, it was all part of an interesting summer.

"It’s actually really fun," said Caleca, a student at Northern Highlands High School in Allendale. "You learn a lot, you have fun and you get in shape. This is the first year I did this, and I would definitely do it again. I’m thinking about being a police officer and going into the military one day."

"Plus, it was nice getting sprayed," Caleca added. "It’s like 100 degrees out."

Bria Lightsey, 14, of Hackensack, also noted that the summer program was a good way to stay in shape. It is also a way for her to keep close to her hoped-for career path.

"I want to be an autopsiest," said Lightsey, a student at Paramus Catholic High School, who hopes to work in the forensics division of a law enforcement agency. "I get a thrill out of it."

Lightsey also pointed to some additional benefits of being in the program.

"It builds character and it teaches you discipline," she said. "It also allows you see what our community, including police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, does for us."

Hackensack Fire Department Lieutenant John McMorrow noted that in the future, he hopes that he and his colleagues can do even more to help the program.

"It’s good that the kids learn about what we do. It’s not just one dimension," said McMorrow, 45, a 20-year veteran of the department. "I love seeing the joy on these kids’ faces. We just want to expand this so it gets bigger and bigger. The more that the community works together, the better that everybody gets along. It definitely helps us out."