In its second year, the North Bergen Junior Police Academy has taken on a new group of trainees: juvenile offenders.
The Junior Police Academy originally started under the helm of North Bergen D.A.R.E. Officer Joseph Sitty Jr. Students with leadership skills were (and still are) nominated by the teachers and enrolled in the week-long program.
“I thought I’d never do it, but now hopefully I can [join] the force.” – Jonathan Glattstein
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Five months ago, North Bergen received $39,191 from the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety to create the program. Certain juveniles were asked to spend a week at the Junior Police Academy instead of receiving a court date and a fine. They also had to complete 12 hours of community service.
The grant mandated that the program be run year-long, so the academy was expanded to conduct one winter weekend session and four week-long sessions over the course of the year. The grant was combined with monies received from a federal organization and fundraising done by the North Bergen Police Department.
In the past year, 123 cadets graduated, including both juvenile offenders and students nominated by their teachers. They were not separated in the program.
Capt. Gerald Sanzari, who oversaw the Station House Program, said that the Junior Police Academy was one of the few to be offered to residents for free, while other towns often offered such programs for a fee.
He believed it had already made an impact on the children who graduated this year, regardless of their reasons for enrolling.
He said that the juvenile offenders who enrolled had an 85 percent graduation rate.
“I think one the great lessons they learned was team building,” said Sanzari. “Kids tend to see police in a very narrow vision [as] people that arrest people and give out summons. They don’t always see the complete picture.”
Sanzari said that the academy “sheds light” on the role of cops in their neighborhood.
Learned a lot
Five different classes graduated from the junior police academy this year.
Sitty planned each week with physical training, tours through North Bergen’s headquarters, classes on police work, and trips that included the Eastern State Penitentiary of Philadelphia, the New York State Police Learning Center, and Tomahawk Lake of Sparta, N.J.
Motorcycle police officers demonstrated how they worked in emergencies, while a composite artist from the N.J. State Police visited students and the U.S. National Guard set up a rock climbing wall during the week.
Sitty said that one visit that was especially thought-provoking was the appearance by a N.J. State Corrections inmate from the Gang Alternatives Program (GAP). The GAP program ensures the release of inmates serving gang-related offenses as long as they renounce their gang affiliations and speak to students about their experiences.
The cadets wrote thank you letters to the inmate for his visit.
“Some of their letters were really touching,” said Sitty.
He said that the cadets were inspired not to “mess up” again because of his story.
A new addition to the program this year was an alcohol demonstration. Sitty said that a large amount of the students from the Station House Program had ended up there because of underage drinking.
Police had cadets wear fatal vision goggles, which made them see less clearly, and instructed them to walk in a straight line, stand on one leg, and operate a golf-cart through a coned course. The idea was to show them what it is like to drive drunk.
Sitty said that since alcohol is the drug of choice for teens, this part of the program was an important addition.
Sabrina Stampe, 12, was nominated by a teacher to join the program. She said that she didn’t expect all of the push-ups to be so difficult and was surprised by what she learned.
Stampe said that driving the golf-cart with the goggles made her want to never drive drunk, since she thought the cone was “…over here and it was all the way over there.”
Making an impact
Police Chief William Galvin said that the program had proven successful for all of the students.
“The North Bergen Police Department Junior Police Academy focuses on team building, leadership skills, and other life skills that enable the youth of North Bergen to grow into productive members of society,” said Galvin.
Sitty said that all of the children enjoyed the program and that he was proud of the commitment the cadets had portrayed.
“It builds more of an important bond between the police officers that were involved in the program and the kids,” said Sitty. “Our primary goal is to make sure they become law abiding citizens [and I’d] love the fact if they become police officers themselves.”
Sitty is happy he is given the opportunity to work with children and make an impact in their lives.
Jonathan Glattstein, 16, had hopped a fence into a postal service parking lot to go skateboarding with his friends last year.
“The police came, so they saw me there and thought I was trespassing, which technically I was,” said Glattstein. “It thought [the program] was going to be like a punishment, but it turned out to actually be fun. I learned a lot more about our police.”
He said the program was more “beneficial” then paying a fine or spending a day in court.
“I thought I’d never do it, but now hopefully I can [join] the force,” said Glattstein.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.