Crime & Safety

Students Graduate from Dearborn Police Youth Academy

Thirty-two students from Dearborn Public Schools received an overview of the criminal justice system for two weeks.

The Dearborn Police Department held its third annual graduation ceremony for the Police Youth Academy on May 4.

Thirty-two students from Dearborn Public Schools attended two sessions on consecutive Saturdays and learned a brief history of the department and its mission, an overview of the criminal justice system and the value of continuing education.

"The Youth Academy gives students a tremendous opportunity to better themselves as citizens by promoting civic duty and responsibility," Haddad said. "We want the students to be goodwill ambassadors to their peers. The program is also about building trust. If we can demystify what police work is, the better the community will be."

High school students are taught about improving life skills, critical thinking and conflict resolution techniques in the program sponsored by the Police Department, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Dearborn Public Schools. Students are selected by high school administrators based on scholastic, athletic or community achievement and their desire to pursue a criminal justice career.

“The students selected for the Youth Academy are considered to be mature, civic-minded teenagers with a strong interest in law enforcement and the community in which they live,” said Brian Whiston, superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools.

Imad Hamad, ADC regional director and national adviser, said, “The lessons learned and taught at the academy, which includes instruction on community policing and the benefits of volunteering in the community, promotes many of the same ideals as the ADC.”

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Student Antonio Watson said he enjoyed learning about the police K-9 unit.

"The police gave us a lot of useful information," he said. "I want to be part of the SWAT team one day, but I know you need a lot of credentials to be accepted into the program."

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Haddad said often students who participate in the Youth Academy come back as interns through Henry Ford Community College's Explorer program.

"What I like the most about meeting the students is having the chance to impress upon them that they are important to us," he said. "We want to engage them to pursue their dreams. They will meet bumps in the road head on, but there's always hope."

This is the third consecutive year for the program, which grows with participation every year.


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