Let the dynamic junior police academies all over America inspire us

(Part I)

May the mandatory implementation of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in senior high school strengthen law enforcement in our communities. Let the newly elected senators finalize the proposal so President Duterte can sign it into a law.

24 years of CAT and cadetship training in 5 professional high schools

Since 1994, our five Operation Brotherhood Montessori Professional High Schools, led by Lt. Commander Jose Mari de la Peña and four reserve army officers, have engaged in Leadership Training for Grades VII to VIII and Cadetship for Grades IX and X. The former includes a curriculum on the Honor Code and Citizenship including uniform inspection and drills. Classroom lectures include the “Law on Persons and Family Relations.”

Other than engaging in advanced courses on disaster management, Red Cross First Aid, CPR and Artificial Respiration, they learn to handle weapons for military parades and fancy drills, read military maps for navigation. Rappelling, mountaineering and rope course are also included. Once a year for two weeks, they work with 10 Scout Rangers who set up a permanent bivouac camp at the 16-hectare Preziosa Botanic Park and Farm Resort or at Camp Tecson in Bulacan. 

Before the National Service Training Program (NSTP) revised the obligatory CAT, our four O.B. Montessori platoons became CAT champions four times at the Pinaglabanan Day Parade while the two OBMC platoons at Angeles won it seven times at the Pampanga “BAGIUS” (wings of angels) Day Parade held every October fiesta.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

Upon the Senate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990, the Philippines sent an official delegation to Geneva, Switzerland to present our laws protecting the rights of our children from infancy to adolescence (birth to 18 years old). Being one of the delegates, I was appointed by our CRC head, Dr. Alma de Leon to chair the special CRC Popularization committee made up of representatives from the Departments of Justice, Education, Social Welfare, Health and Labor. We traveled to major Philippine cities to meet with local government counterparts to make the treaty understood and accepted.

One alarming discovery we made was that each city had only half the policemen ideally required for the population. This dismayed me so much that I have tried ever since to find the cause of the missing policemen on whom the security of all our communities rest. Thus in 2002 Joint United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) helped paved the way for my visit to three military high schools in New York, Valley Forge and Carson Long, Pennsylvania.

The US police office-led high school curriculum for ages 15 to 21

All the federal states of America offer a rigorous, police office-led high school curriculum developed for young men and women expressing interest in law enforcement career. The program provides a better understanding of law enforcement for students no matter what career path they eventually follow, and also provides a high quality recruiting resource for the police department.

Los Angeles Police Academy Magnet School Program curriculum goes beyond the basic high school course requirements, providing students with specialized coursework, training, mentoring, work and volunteer opportunities. It includes instructions in: 1) Communication skills; 2) Basic concepts of criminal law and the criminal justice system; 3) The role of science related to law enforcement; 4) Community service to develop good citizenship and ongoing community involvement. A full-time Police Officer II is employed as the program coordinator. Currently, 500 students are participating in the program citywide.

The San Antonio Police Explorer Program in Texas is open to young men and women ages 14 (and completed the 8th grade) and not yet 21 years old with an interest in learning more about careers in the field of law enforcement.

Agencies from the federal state and local levels coordinate the Law Enforcement Exploring programs throughout the United States. These community-based programs are managed by the local police departments, which include the sheriffs, chief of police, and the state police. In addition, many federal agencies offer their support: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Federal Air Marshal Service, US Army, Military Police, US Customs and Border Protection Service by providing national programs, scholarships, workshops, and literature.

Nationally, over 33,000 Explorers and 8,425 adult volunteers participate in Law Enforcement Exploring. The most popular Law Enforcement Exploring careers include: police officers, sheriffs, federal agents, state police/highway patrol, probation officers, military police, and correction officers.

New Jersey Junior Police Academy is an outgrowth of community policing. This program transforms the traditional role of the police officer into one of mentor and friend, while encouraging the young citizens to be partners in building safer schools and communities. Young people will learn and understand what police officers do and why they do it. While the academy’s graduates are not police officers, they are the community leaders of tomorrow.

The Neighborhood Watch is the most effective crime prevention program in the US, bringing citizens together with law enforcement to deter crime and make communities safer. It traces its roots back to the days of colonial settlements, when night watchmen patrolled the streets. The modern version of Neighborhood Watch was developed in response to requests from sheriffs and police chiefs who were looking for a crime prevention program that would involve citizens and address an increasing number of burglaries. Launched nationally in 1972, Neighborhood Watch counts on citizens to organize themselves and work with law enforcement to keep a trained eye and ear on their communities at all times of day and night. In just 10 years, 12 percent of the population has been involved in a Neighborhood Watch. It reduces opportunities of crime to occur.

(Part II: “Can the Scout Ranger Leadership Principles and Practices be Imbibed by High School Students?”)