For the past year and a half, during my junior and senior years at Seminole High School, I have been involved with the Pinellas County (Florida) Sheriff Explorer Post 900. There are different police explorer posts just like ours all over the world. Our post belongs to the F.A.P.E (Florida Association of Police Explorers). We usually have 35-50 registered members actively in the post on average, and as such, we are one of the largest posts in our association. We meet each Tuesday from 7 to 9 pm, for classes on topics that vary. We have had classes on Police ethics, sexual harassment, S. W. A. T. , Narcotics, K-9, Forensics, Traffic stops, Burglary, hand cuffing, crime prevention, gun safety, CPR, First Aid, and other subjects.

We have a rank system. I am a Sergeant. We have a Captain, Lts.,Sgts. Cpls and then the regular explorers. Each Explorer is assigned into either Squad A or B. There are a Sgt and a Cpl. In charge of each Squad. Each position has different job tasks that they must do to maintain the post and keep everyone doing what they are supposed to. Everyone gets along really well.

The Sheriff Explorers program is run in a semi-military style, so we some times have the Boot camp Drill instructors come over and teach drill or run us through some Physical Training. It usually consists of stretches, jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, and running with the Drill instructors from or with one of the ranking explorer officers.

Besides the meeting each week we sometimes have what we call details that you are able to attend. Some months are slow and we wont have any but some months we are doing one or two every week. Most details we go to are community things such as parades, fairs, carnivals, picnics, bike rodeo's, and so forth, where they need extra help. As Explorers we direct traffic and show the cars where to park. We also float around and make sure everyone's safe and no one needs anything. The organizations that we volunteer for usually donate money to us for our help. Thats one of the ways we help to fund the program. We also have property sales and sometimes car washes.

The sheriff explorer program is all volunteer. You dont get paid a cent but its really good if you are planning on going through the police academy or having a career in law enforcement, as I plan to. Most of the people in the post want to become police officers and this program really gives you an advantage. Plus you get to know and meet lots of people both Explorer wise and Deputy wise from our department and from all over the state and some times the world.

We have a state competition each year. This year and next its going to be held in St. Petersburg, FL. At this event we compete against all the FAPE explorers in the state in different events. The events are Burglary in progress, first aid, crime scene, crisis intervention, bomb threat, search and arrest, traffic accident, traffic stop, tie breaker, and FATS. They also have individual events in Pistol and the bike course that we compete in.

It's a real fun time, although we train really hard. We train with our advisors for two weeks before the state competitions, from 8:00am to 3:30 pm Monday thru Friday . We also train thoughout the year. We get to train with the SWAT team, bomb squad, road deputies, crime scene techs. and many other people because at the competition you have to know how to run each event as though you were actually on the call, in real life. They don't tell you what event you are going to until you arrive on the scene, so it's just like the real thing. This year we had 6 people that went to state. I was one of them. We got third place in crime scene/ first aid, 5th place in bomb threat, and we tied for 5th on the tie breaker event. This was a significant achievement for having a brand new team. We will be even better next year.

Every other year we have a National competition that we go to. We had it last year in Flagstaff, Arizona. There were over 4000 Explorers from all over the world there. We do the same types of events as we do at state and we bring the same team. We got to go to seminars on criminal profiling and race related crimes put on by the FBI last year. We got to meet people from US Customs, Border patrol, FBI ect. We had the director of the DEA speak. Its a really neat experience. You work the whole year trying to get picked for the state/national team. The more details you go to, the better your attitude is, the more you work, the more of a chance you have at being picked by the advisors.

Next year the National competition will be held in Atlanta, Georgia.

In order to be a Sheriff Explorer, you must meet certain requirements. You must be 14-21 years of age,with a clean criminal record, and a good school record with at least a 2.0 GPA. To become a member you must attend four meetings in a row. On your fourth meeting you have an acceptance board where the officers ask you questions and either accept you or deny you from the program. If you are accepted you are given a "Class B" uniform. This consists of "Battle Dress Uniform" (BDU) pants (khaki colored pants with big pockets), a gun belt, and a green Sheriff Explorer shirt. There is no annual cost for this program. You have to buy your own boots however and replace anything you lose or break.

Once you have been there for 6 months you receive your "Class A" Uniform. Ours looks kinda like the PCSO Deputy Sheriff uniform with the green uniform pants and the gray stripe, the long sleeve police uniform shirt, shoes, collar brass, and a tie.

Once you have your your "Class A" status you become eligible to earn an Explorer badge by working one shift at the jail, the front desk, and in communications.

You are able to earn riding status so you can go on calls with the deputies after working 40 hours in each of the three places.

The Sheriff Explorers program is a really great one, and I have found that the more you put into the program the more you get out of it.