Registration open for Indiana Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Academy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — If your high schooler dreams of a career in law enforcement, you can now sign them up to attend the Indiana Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Academy.

The weeklong summer camp gives teenagers in grades 9 through 12 the chance to experience what it’s like for cadets at the Indiana State Police Academy. It was created by the American Legion Department of Indiana and the Indiana State Police.

This is not your typical camp where campers jump in a canoe and paddle around the lake, says academy chairman Ron Patterson.

“The cadets have to get up and do a PT in the morning, they learn drill and ceremony, They get exposed to squad car tactics, explosive ordinance disposal, scuba diving. There’s a lot that goes on and it’s pretty intense,” Patterson said.

Campers will also take part in mock crime scene investigations, get familiar with police equipment, watch police demonstrations, and hear from judges, lawyers, and others in the field of criminal justice.

The camp is a mini police academy, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Danielle Elwood-Henderson.

“We want the kids to have an understanding, if they go into law enforcement, what is expected when they get to that part,” Elwood-Henderson said. “We get kids that come through and we get to watch them become state troopers or other law enforcement agencies, and that’s awesome. But we also get to see kids that become teachers and different things and they can use what they learned in the program to help them mature in life.”

Elwood-Henderson says the camp is also beneficial to the police who participate.

“This gives us an opportunity not only to show kids what we do at work, but also who we are as people. There’s two sides to that and we want those kids to understand both sides of it and we want to build those relationships in the community and make it stronger.”

This year’s camp is June 19 – 25 at Anderson University. Online registration for this year’s camp is now open.