Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9405010071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The upper box represents a car stopped for speeding. The two lower boxes, carefully positioned below and to the left, are police cars.
As he talks his way through the steps, Fazio uses the words and body movements an officer should use to protect himself from the unexpected.
"When you pull up behind the car, turn your wheels to the left. This way, when you open the door, if someone starts shooting, you have that tire there to possibly deflect some bullets," Fazio advises his students.
But every situation is different, he says, and these procedures cannot take the place of common sense and quick reactions.
"Nothing is textbook when you're out there on the streets."
His students listen attentively, because they know they'll be tested on this in a few weeks.
But they are not police officers. Nor are they cadets studying their way through the police academy.
They are teen-agers, members of the Roanoke Police Department's Explorer program.
The program was developed by the Boy Scouts in the 1960s to give boys and girls a closeup look at various careers, according to Chris Bingaman, field director for Blue Ridge Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts.
Bingaman said a similar program in the medical field, second only to police work in nationwide popularity, is sponsored by Lewis-Gale Hospital.
The Police Department's Scout program, now in its second year, has more than a dozen members ages 14 to 20.
While these teens enjoy socializing with friends every Thursday night, most enter the basement of the Jefferson Center on Campbell Avenue Southwest with one purpose - to learn how to become a police officer.
Two nights each month are devoted to classroom instruction. The Scouts learn how to conduct a search and seizure, memorize radio codes, practice using handcuffs.
The group simulates every Police Department procedure, including the hierarchy. There are captains, lieutenants and sergeants, who are elected each year by the members.
Virginia Western Community College student Daniel Martin, this year's captain, has been with the Scouts since the program began. He knows what an extensive time commitment is needed to learn these procedures.
"We spent forever, about eight months, on traffic investigation. We learned how to read skid marks, how to handle a multi-car accident, what the drag factor is," Martin said.
Upstairs in the Jefferson Center, police academy cadets, who must be 21 to begin training, are learning the same lessons.
Chief adviser to the Scouts, Lt. Steve Wills, said few changes are made for his young group. "We have to adjust the testing for this age group, but the training is as close as possible to the academy training."
Most of Wills' students know the note-taking and long lectures are worth it.
"I get a lot out of the classes, and I know it will look good when I apply for the police force," Tiffany McGeorge, a senior at Patrick Henry High School, said.
McGeorge, unlike some of her high school peers, already has a clear direction for her career. This kind of dedication is exactly what the Scouts are looking for.
"There aren't many teen-agers who know that they want to have a career in law enforcement. We're trying to connect with the small faction who do know," Martin said.
Scouts who get through every section of training, pass the oral and written examinations, and are at least 16 years old can begin testing their knowledge on the streets.
"They go out on calls with an officer who has had Scout training. They get to use the radios and practice the techniques," Wills said. "We're very safety conscious, though. Anytime there's a questionable call, the officers drop the Scouts off at a safe place."
"I've never been on a call involving weapons or anything like that," Martin added. "We're well trained enough to know when we want to be around and when we don't!"
by CNB