Lamar Police Explorer Post Taking Shape

Lamar Police Chief Kyle Miller

“We have all our committee members listed, and now we’re starting to accept applications to the post,” explained Lamar Police Chief, Kyle Miller on Friday, July 1^st.  Earlier this spring, Chief Miller and Office Steve Sanger, explained to the Lamar City Council, an idea to re-start the Police Explorer Post which was discontinued in 2000. The program is open to students ages 14-21 and is regulated in part, through its affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America which also sets membership fees for the cadets and committee members.  The committee had to be organized first, and once training was begun for those members, the police department could begin recruiting for interested students.

Chief Miller said they already had several students interested in the program when he and Officer Miller put the idea before the council and now they will focus their energies on cadet recruitment. “The department will be on hand for the National Night Out event on August 2^nd.  We’ll be at Willow Creek Park and plan to have an information booth set up for interested students.  They can approach us there, or just contact the department in 336-4341 to find out more information,” Miller explained.  There is some expense involved in membership with the cost to a cadet at $25 a year, mostly for insurance premiums and a city-issued uniform for the students.  Females are also encouraged to apply to the program and at this point, there is no limit to the number of students that can enroll in the program.  A portion of the training will also cover fire service techniques and working in the county’s Incident Command System under Rural Fire Chief, Stefan Warn.

Miller said part of the training would have students train with the police department, accompany officers on some ride-along patrols and learn about the workings of the department in general. If a student wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement, at the age of 21, they’d be eligible to go to a police academy.  There is no specific date set at this point for the program to begin.

By Russ Baldwin