New Program Teaches Teens About Law Enforcement

For more than a decade the , with the support of the , has been offering kids entering the high school a chance to learn about what law enforcement work can really be like through its program.

Now the two entities are taking it one step further by developing a new leadership program that will expose high school students to an even more extensive look at police work.  

Hasbrouck Heights has partnered with the Lyndhurst Police Department to develop what is called the Advanced Leadership Initiative, a program that is open to all graduates of the Junior Police Academy in both boroughs, according to Michael Stillman, a teacher.

Stillman, along with Heights Police Sgt. Joseph Rinke, both serve as the instructors for the Junior Police Academy and are involved with this new initiative.

At the Junior Police Academy last Friday, Stillman recognized the three students from Hasbrouck Heights who were the first to graduate from the Advanced Leadership Initiative program. 

Although it is open to those who graduated the Junior Police Academy it is not an automatic acceptance, Stillman explained, as the enrollment process requires an interview and application process for students from both towns..

The students must be willing to commit to a 10-week program which Stillman compared to a college semester of advanced training where they would learn about aspects of law enforcement that are not covered in the Junior Police Academy.

The hope is that through lessons in character development and leadership and being exposed to other elements of law enforcement the participants in the program will turnkey that and bring it back into the community.