St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office accepting registration for Junior Deputy Academy

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann talks with Junior Deputy Academy participants during the 2017 class. Registration is open for this year’s program which kicks off June 5. To register, call (504) 278-7628 or (504) 278-7799.

Participants in last summer’s Junior Deputy Academy learn basic first aid and CPR. Registration is being held now for this summer’s Academy, which starts June 5. Call (504) 278-7628 or (504) 278-7799 for more information.

St. Bernard Parish children ages 10-13 who are looking for something fun and exciting to do this summer should consider joining the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office Junior Deputy Academy. Registration is now open.

Formed in 2015, the Junior Deputy Academy is designed to foster community pride and self esteem in boys and girls while teaching them about various aspects of police work.

“Our Junior Deputy Academy program affords children a chance to learn something about law enforcement and have some fun at the same time,” St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “It’s designed to help them develop pride and self-respect for themselves, as well as their community and our law enforcement officers.”

The Junior Deputy Academy, which is patterned after the Sheriff’s Office Citizens Police Academy for adults, will be held two days a week, from June 5 to July 11, at the Sheriff’s Office Training Center, on the second floor at 2118 Jackson Blvd. in Chalmette, immediately behind the Parish Courthouse.

Classes will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m. on June 5 and 7, June 12 and 14, June 19 and 21, June 26 and 28, and July 10 and 11. A graduation ceremony is set for July 18 at noon at Docville Farms, 5124 E. St. Bernard Highway in Violet.

The program is led by Capt. Charles Borchers, head of community relations and longtime Crime-Prevention and Neighborhood Watch director for the Sheriff’s Office, and Sgt. Eric Eilers.

Sheriff Pohlmann said deputies from various divisions of the Sheriff’s Office visit with participants during the course of the program, including the Patrol, Narcotics, Marine and Criminal Investigations divisions.

Participants will visit St. Bernard Parish Prison, and will be shown some of the department’s state-of-the-art equipment. They also will be taught firearms safety at a local shooting range, and will learn basic first aid and CPR. Members of the St. Bernard Fire Department also participate in the program.

To register for the Junior Deputy Academy, parents can call Capt. Borchers at (504) 278-7628 or Sgt. Eilers at (504) 278-7799.