Dover Police concludes 2024 Youth Academy

DOVER—Over the past week, 30 students from across Dover took part in the Police Department’s annual Youth Academy, which presented certificates at a ceremony on Friday at the Academy of Dover Charter School.

“We do it each year but this year which was so significant as we partnered with the academy over charter school for the first time, where we took 15 children from their school and 15 children from throughout the community to have one big Youth Academy,” said Cpl. Anthony Smith, the Police Athletic League Coordinator and is tasked with running programs like this one.

Participants, who are between the ages of 10 and 13, participate in a variety of activities throughout the week, including things one might expect from a police academy, like physical fitness, push-ups, sit-ups, and running drills.

It also has the children take part in activities that may be surprising, like this year, which has a focus on teaching them how to fish, as well as a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

“A lot of kids have never experienced the Holocaust Museum. A lot of the kids from the group never heard of the Holocaust,” said Cpl. Smith. “It was an extreme eye-opener to get the kids out there.”

Students in the academy left with a two-year CPR certification and Cpl. Smith’s reason for including it in the curriculum hits close to home for him: his daughter suffers from a disease that gives her a weaker heart.

“I wanted to make sure that everybody that was around me, to include (my daughter's) sisters, knew CPR because of her having a heart condition. But then, I wanted to take it a step further outside of my family and introduce it to the children of the community ... (things) such as CPR and how to save a life,” he said.

He said planning typically begins for the next year the moment the kids leave the ceremony, with plans beginning to form for 2025 already.

When registration opens next year, word will be sent out via social media, with registration available on the Dover Police website.

Dover Police is doing more community outreach events over the next couple of weeks as well. Thursday marks the fifth annual “Day in their Boots” where kids go to the Dover Fire School to learn about a variety of first responder jobs, and the annual National Night Out event, which is set for August 6.