Broken Arrow Police Department Accepting Applications For The Upcoming Junior Police Academy

The Broken Arrow Police Department is accepting applications for kids in 6th through 12th grade interested in the Junior Police Academy. It's designed to mimic the academy that Broken Arrow Police Officers go through. The adult academy is six months long, but the junior academy is condensed into one week.

Students will get the opportunity to learn more about law enforcement and see the different things that officers do. Kids will get to see things like the K-9 unit, the mounted patrol, and other units within the police department.

The kids will even get to learn from other agencies such as the fire department. The goal is to expose these kids to the world of law enforcement because it could end up being a career for them in the future.

"We hope that they get a better understanding of law enforcement, and they see the different things we do. They see that we are all human and we all love kids. We love our community, and we just want them to learn a little bit more about our profession," Tiffany Jessie, BAPD School Resource Officer said.

For some, the Junior Police Academy pushed them to want to become a police officer even more. That's the case for Jack Oelke. Oelke went through the Junior Police Academy 12 years ago and is now in the regular police academy. Oelke said that the Junior Police Academy is a great place to start for anyone considering a career in law enforcement.

"They might find a passion for law enforcement by going through it. When you see everything that a police officer goes through, it might spark something inside of you that determines 'well this is a career I wanna go into,'" Oelke said.

Applications for the Junior Police Academy can be found on the city's website or on the Broken Arrow Police Department Facebook page. Applications are due by April 30 at midnight.