Georgetown students get a glimpse of law enforcement

A group of Georgetown Middle School students went back to school in June for more than academics.

The group of 26 was part of the Georgetown Police Junior Academy and reported to school for a week of physical training and a crash course in law enforcement.

“Middle school is like a fork in the road – a person who's good or bad can really influence a kid,” said Detective Joey Melvin, a student resource officer for the Indian River School District. “I want to get those kids who want to test themselves and achieve something.”

In January, students applied to the academy and wrote an essay on why they wanted to participate. Their grades and discipline records were also taken into consideration for the final cut, Melvin said.

During junior academy week, students started every day with a mile run followed by a regimen of push-ups and sit-ups. An obstacle course with tire rolls and rope drills took up one morning of activity for the cadets.

Each day, students heard from special speakers or observed demonstrations on law-enforcement themes. Ingrid Velasquez-Perez, a rising seventh-grader, said she liked the K-9 demonstration the best. “They showed us how the dog takes someone down,” she said.

Ingrid is thinking about becoming a doctor, but she signed up for the academy because her cousin is a cadet with Georgetown police. “I wanted to learn something,” she said with a shy smile.

The Delaware State Aviation unit and cadets for Dover Police Department were some of the groups who provided demonstrations.

“My favorite part was meeting the Dover cadets,” said Tyrell Witke, a rising ninth-grader.

Tyrell, a football player, said he also enjoyed running and weight training. He said he wasn't sure whether he wants to be a police officer, but it's an option he's considering.

“I want a better understanding of laws and law enforcement,” he said.

On the last day of the academy, Ray Holcomb, a retired FBI agent and current advisor to the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, spoke to students about his work in law enforcement. He warned them to be careful about social media because anything they do online could haunt them forever.

“Be very careful about the sites you visit or the things you post,” he said. “It never goes away.”

Holcomb shared his experience working in the Middle East, where women can be beaten for walking alone and free speech is punishable by death.

“There are places in this world where if you speak out against a country, you'll disappear,” he said. “We are all very lucky to live in America.”

Melvin said he enjoyed getting to know the students during academy week.

“I argue against the opinion that our youth today are lazy and not motivated,” Melvin said. “I had cadets fighting serious health issues that showed up every morning. I had a cadet riding a bicycle 16 miles a day to attend this academy. I had a cadet lose their grandfather on the first day but showed up the very next morning. It was an honor to spend what I hope was a transformative week with these cadets and look forward to seeing all of their future successes.”