What are the explorers? like the police program?

Question

ok so my girlfriend is in a program called the explorers. I have just learned what it is and when I checked out a website and found out it is a police training program for kids (when I say kids, I mean like my age, 14) and since I have a previous hatred for cops (a LONG story but I am just gonna leave it at this: cops have ****** my family over MANY times) finding out that that she in in this orginization almost made me throw up. BUT I heard my girlfriend refer to scenarios which led me to wonder if they did like actual drills and stuff. If they do do stuff like drills in explorers I wanna join. I am an adrenaline junkie. I play airsoft like people play call of duty because I love the feel of "combat". So is there anything like realistic, lifelike drills in explorers? please give me as many details about this program as you possibly can

Answer 1

The Explorers is a program for teens who have an interest in law enforcement. The type of activities are determined by each post, so they can vary quite a bit. Yes, some do drills, and there are national competitions. This years will be held in Atlanta, Georgia.



The official website is

http://www.learningforlife.org/

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Explorers are a type of "auxiliary" police force, or volunteer. Explorer programs are often referred to as "posts" or "units". Explorer posts are sponsored ultimately by the Boy Scouts of America, and locally by a local police or sheriff's department. Each post falls under command of an advisor, typically an advisor is an active officer in the host department. This program is limited to youth, generally ages 14 to 21. It is unpaid, contrary to some "cadet" programs. Most posts will have a uniform similar, if not identical to the host department's duty uniform. For safety reasons, however, explorers typically are not allowed to wear the uniform in public, unless performing explorer duties. In my post, we have two uniforms. Class A is the uniform that you typically see, dress shirt and dress pants, with the department patches on the sleeve. Senior explorers even have custom name tags. This uniform also includes an explorer badge, which is identical to the department badge, but instead of "Deputy Sheriff", it says "Explorer". In my unit, these uniforms are strictly for competitions. We normally wear class B uniforms, or training uniforms, which include tan tactical pants and a green or black t-shirt bearing our post's name. All explorers are issued duty belts equipped with gun holster, and handcuff holster. During training exercises we use "red guns(plastic guns used to simulate a real gun)" and handcuffs. Explorers are never issued guns, handcuffs, batons, tazers, etc... The most equipment I've ever had on me in public at one time was my class B uniform, a flashlight, a walkie-talkie radio, a note pad, and a pen (a good explorer ALWAYS carries a note pad and pen, especially while "on duty"). When I say "in public", I'm referring to volunteer details. Some of the details that my post has worked on are D.U.I check points, community functions (we did traffic control), and canvassing (posting posters of missing people). My post only goes to 1-2 competitions a year. The competitions range from unknown problem, to traffic stop, to warrant service, etc. Teams from all over a state, region, or even the whole country meet at these competitions. In our free time, we like to have "airsoft battles" as well. As far as I know, nobody in my post has been on a ride-along. This is a downside to my post. I believe other posts have regular ride-along programs. Every other week, we have meetings. It's a requirement to wear the uniform, but there is no inspection. At the meetings, we will one or more of several things. We might have an informational class about a police topic, or we might watch dash-cam footage from our department. Sometimes we'll have guest speakers come to our meetings. The speakers are usually officers from within our, or another department. We get to see the K-9 unit demonstrations. The most common thing for us to do at a meeting however is our training drills. As for realism in our drills, it depends. Usually, the "bad guys" are people we know, such as advisors, parents, other officers, etc... We use the patrol cars for traffic stop drills (we don't get to drive...) with the lights and siren and P.A system. It's about as realistic as you can get without being a cop or a criminal. My post likes to have fun, but we know how to conduct ourselves in a professional matter when it's necessary. I've been in this program with the sheriff's office for about 2 and a half years now, and I love it. I have a real passion for this stuff, and hope to become a police/deputy one day. Realize that not everybody ends up working as a cop, nor does it require you to work as a cop. The purpose of the program is to expose you to the field, and from there let you decide whether or not it's truly what you want to do.

Answer 4

The Explorers program is for teenagers that are interested in a career in law enforcement.The general age requirements are 14-19 years old.Although the activities the explorers are involved in will be determined by each individual agency,they usually do go through drills such as traffic stops,defensive tactics,etc.Also,there are national competitions that the explorers may attend each year.

Answer 5

I was in the explorers 2 years ago. We did all kinds of hands on things. It just depends on the department. We did different training scenarios like traffic stops , felony traffic stops , learned our 10 codes, building searches, Firing Range[19+] , Active Shooter , Foot Chase Methods, Domestic Violence Scenarios, Fight In Progress, Red Man Defensive Tactics , handcuffing , and some of us older explorers did defensive driving techniques. We dis all of this under close supervision of sworn LEO. It's a great start if your serious about it. I was in for 4 years. Now I'm about to apply at my local department and most of my training is almost completed via our Cadet program. Good Luck.

Answer 6

Many law enforcement agencies such as police departments, sheriff offices and departments, and federal law enforcement entities have explorer posts. Police exploring is for youths that have finished eighth grade, and are 14 years old, or are 15 years old, but have not reached their 21st birthday. If you want to become a police officer or other law enforcement officer, and meet the criteria, you should try to become a police explorer! It is an excellent opportunity!



Police explorer posts help youths gain insight into a variety of programs that offer hands-on career activities. For young men and women interested in becoming law enforcement officers, exploring offers experiential learning with lots of fun, hands-on activities that promote positive growth and development. Being a police explorer provides an opportunity for young people to better determine if a career as a law enforcement officer if right for them. Explores often learn about the history of law enforcement, criminal law, traffic law, criminal investigation, ethics, crisis intervention, self defense, physical fitness, first aid, patrol procedures, crime prevention, traffic control and direction, accident investigation, dangerous drugs and narcotics, juvenile delinquency, criminology, and other topics related to law enforcement. Explorer posts provide explorers with character building, leadership development, interpersonal communication skills development, and an appreciation for community services and good citizenship. Explorers learn the importance of teamwork, and camaraderie.



Trained police explorers are often tasked with performing duties such as security checks, bicycle safety inspections, child identification fingerprinting for parents, manning information booth at career fairs or community events, answering telephones or radios, assisting with searches for missing persons, traffic or crowd control at certain events, and data processing. Some law enforcement explorer programs include ride-alongs. Police explorers are representatives of their respective departments, and are expected to abide by all policies and procedures, and act in an appropriate and professional manner. Police explorers are usually required to wear uniforms. Many explorer posts compete at the National Law Enforcement Explorer Conference every two years. The NLEEC brings together youth from across the continental United States, Hawaii and as far away as Great Britain. The explorers attend training seminars, network with other explorers and explorer posts, and compete in different aspects of law enforcement.

Answer 7

Well, if you can't get over your hatred for the police, I would strongly advise against becoming an explorer. You will be working closely with officers as an explorer.



Now, to answer your question. I have been an explorer with the US Border Patrol for 3 years, including 2 years as Patrol Explorer in Charge. I'm going to tell you about my experience, so this might not apply to your local agencies.



All explorers go through 3 months of training, which includes instruction in laws, USBP history, CPR, basic tactics, PT and other fundamental skills.



We have several types of uniforms, including a dress uniform (for ceremonies and public events that do not require us to get dirty or sweaty) and a rough duty uniform (post t-shirt or polo shirt with BDU pants, for normal meetings, competitions and public events that require us to get dirty or sweaty.)



All explorers are issued a leather duty belt, 5 keepers, a holster (for training red guns), a handcuff case and handcuffs, a radio holster, training pepper spray and a spray holster, and a badge and badge holder. We are allowed to buy additional gear at our own expense, as long as it is approved by the advisors. For example, I wear concealable body armor under my uniform any time we are in public or at the range.



As for the scenarios...at my post, we do all types of scenarios. I like to break them up into 3 types:

-Patrol scenarios, meaning scenarios that a patrol officer would encounter. Stuff like traffic stops, responding to 911 calls, robberies in progress, active shooters, etc.



-Tactical scenarios, meaning scenarios that a tactical team would encounter. Stuff like search warrant service, narcotic buy/busts, hostage rescues, active shooters, crisis negotiations, rapid deployments, terrorist attacks, tubular assaults, marijuana field raids, etc.



-Border Patrol specific scenarios, meaning scenarios that only USBP agents would encounter. Stuff like immigration checkpoints, dealing with large groups of suspects with a small amount of officers, etc.



The scenarios are a lot of fun and a huge adrenaline rush. My post goes the the Chandler Tactical Competition every year in Chandler, AZ. I will always remember a few of the scenarios I did there. The rapid deployment started with our team driving to a fire station. When we got there the judges (members of Chandler PD's SWAT team) were waiting with a U-Haul truck. We got in the back, and one of the judges briefed us on the situation (shots fired at a middle school) while we drove to the school. When we pulled up to the school, we jumped out of the truck, formed our stack, and moved to the front gates. As we approached, 3 people ran out screaming, We ordered them to the ground, and discovered that one of them was carrying a pistol. He was handcuffed and left for responding officers to deal with. As we moved into the school campus, we saw many students (who has been recruited as actors from the local high schools) that had been shot lying in the grass. A man with a gun was pointing it down a hallway. We ordered him to drop the weapon, but he showed us police credentials, so I instructed him to cover the entrance, in case any other shooters tried to sneak up on us. We advanced down the hall, past more wounded and dead students. My point man, who was carrying a tactical shield, noticed a trip wire leading to a bag. We carefully stepped over the wire and entered a classroom. As we entered, a shooter jumped up from behind a desk with a shotgun pointed toward us. We shot him (yelled "Bang, Bang") and his accomplice who charged at us from another door. With that, the school was declared clear and the scenario ended.



Another scenario we did was a tubular assault on a train. Hostages had been taken on two cars of the train, and we had to rescue them. It was about 8:00 at night, so the police brought giant spot lights to light up the train. As we approached the train, shots were fired inside. The first assault team moved to the passenger car as the second team moved to the back of the caboose. The second team encountered a bomb rigged to the caboose door, so the first team entered the caboose while the second team provided perimeter security. The first team encountered a hostage and a terrorist. They dropped the terrorist when he reached for his cell phone, because the hostage was screaming about a bomb in the train. They then entered the passenger car, and neutralized two armed terrorists in the aisle and private room. We then pulled all the hostages off the train, searched them, and ran them out of the danger zone. The whole thing felt like a movie, but also very real, because of the spotlights, and the realistic acting, clothing and tactics the assault teams, terrorists and hostages used.



I would suggest joining the Explorers, as long as you go into it with a good attitude, and good reasons (like serving your community and imporoving yourself) and not just for the adrenaline rush.