Malden Junior Police Academy has another successful summer

Nearly 100 young Malden residents take part in two sessions

By Steve Freker

It has not happened yet, but it is coming. Probably right around the corner.

The Malden Junior Police Academy (JPA) just completed its 10th year last week, with a graduation ceremony in the venerable Jenkins Auditorium at Malden High School. It marked the end of two sessions of the Police Academy, and this year showed that the program remained as popular as ever with nearly 100 young Malden residents participating, as either JPA “campers” or youth volunteers working alongside MPD officers to help supervise the younger kids.

After 10 years of operation, here’s a realistic question: Has the program produced any Malden Police Officers — or even any viable candidates — since the program was reconstituted in 2015? Not yet, but it’s a very probable “coming attraction,” according to JPA supervisor/Malden Police Sgt. Rob O’Brien. “We are thinking we’re close to seeing our first police cadet from this program, we think the first one might come from one of our first groups of volunteer assistants.”

The Junior Police Academy ran for two one-week sessions in July, the second week concluding last Friday, August 1. Each week this summer included about 35 Junior Police “cadets” — boys and girls — as well as 8-10 high school kids as volunteer program assistants.

The program is designed for students entering the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th grade in the fall. The JPA features a variety of training situations in which all cadets are required to participate.

The JPA included classroom instruction, hands-on police tactics training, physical training and travel days to special events. Malden Police Officers acted as staff instructors and supervised the cadets throughout each day of the program, which ran from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The program was based in Malden High School — the perfect venue — with its spacious courtyard area, where a number of outdoor presentations were given, as well as larger classrooms inside and the Malden High Pool, which the kids took advantage of nearly every day of the camp.

Sgt. O’Brien also supervises the Malden Public Schools MPD School Resource Officer contingent, which includes, besides himself, Katelyn Centore, Connor Cloherty and Chuck Washington.

“It has become an important program. It is the perfect way for Malden Police officers to initiate what we hope are lasting relationships with some of our youngest residents,” Sgt. O’Brien said. “It is great to witness some of the tremendous interactions our officers have with youths from Malden through the program every year.”