Sheriff Youth Week Challenges Area Teens

Sheriff Youth Week is not your typical summer camp.

Teens participating in the program -- held at the Monmouth County Police Academy in Freehold Township from July 11-15 -- spent their mornings completing drills, their afternoons in physical training, and received instruction from law enforcement professionals throughout the day.

The program is sponsored by the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office.

“The students learn discipline, commitment and the basic foundations of what enforcement is about,” said Monmouth County Sheriff’s Officer James Fay, who directs the program.

Fay said most of the high school-age children who attend Sheriff Youth Week, especially those who stay past the first rigorous day of camp, have an interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement.

The week included a K-9 unit demonstration, a crime scene investigation lecture, bike patrol training, and presentations by officers from various law enforcement divisions.

On Wednesday, the teens toured the Monmouth County Police Firing Range at the Monmouth County Fire Academy complex in Howell,  received extensive safety training and viewed a firearms demonstration by Monmouth County Sheriff’s officers.

Students like Constance Kniesler, 18, stood at attention when speaking to their instructors and asked detailed questions about weapons and law enforcement procedures.

“I really like the order and the discipline,” said Kniesler, who is from Westminster, Md., but is visiting her grandparents in Allentown for the summer. “I hope to see if I’m cut out for law enforcement."

Watching officers use their weapons and hearing them discuss the serious considerations that must go into any use of deadly force stuck with Cadell Kennedy, 15, of Wall.

 “I never heard a gunshot before. The situations (officers are placed in)—that’s real life. You can’t imagine it up,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Kniesler were two of 77 teens who graduated from the 19th Sheriff Youth Week Class.

The program began in 1992 and has been held every year since except 2009 when budget cuts forced the class’ cancelation. The number of teens registering for the camp rises each year, according to Sheriff Shaun Golden.

“Sheriff Youth Week builds character. It’s not your average camp,” Golden said. “The kids get classroom experience and practical law enforcement experience. It’s fun but it gives them serious issues to think about.”

The class of 2011 had students from over 30 towns including Aberdeen, Belmar, Brick, Fair Haven, Freehold, Howell, Manalapan, Marlboro, Matawan, Middletown, Red Bank, Spring Lake Heights, Tinton Falls and Wall.