?? Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 25 )une '86

Special Police Progra m W J|^ bmjmrtr yy ^ , IN TRAINING — More than 220 candidates atV Ji M tended a special police training program at the Public Safety Training Center in Crest Haven recently. Above, the trainees stand ready for inI I spection. Stephen Edwards of the L M ■: ■ Wild wood Crest Police Department, left, and Capt. Anthony Solis of the Stone Harbor Police j& ',' ' '-, Department how to use Below, Wildwood takes durBULLSEYE — Below. Eugene Halton. director of training, and James Kimrey of North Wildwood ex- 1 \ amine the target practive scoreboard. ^ % % _ f> n FIRST AID - At bottom W r_ Instructor Bob Caruso ^ Wildwood shows ^ R *^R N Marie of Sea Isle *w R « , ■! a V fR- M 1. injury. At right, Jeff Pas- »»*" *■ J i*. f| / quale of Ocean City listens W ^ -V l |i for breathing while ^^RpPPe ^ 1 A Harbor ap^R \M R T • on a ^ ., J N Jr \ Ward

— 77iis Academy — Isn 't Like The Movie

By WILL DENNIS ' CREST HAVEN - Don't be fooled — this isn't , "Police Academy." | Because, unlike the I movie of that name, there's 1 no joking, no wild gunplay, r no fooling around. The 224 trainees, consisting of 210 "special police" and 14 regular officers, are to remain alert, prompt, and obedient during the 120-hour training period. Cheating, inattention, impoliteness, and other actions "unbecoming to a police officer" result in dismissal from the program. The Public Safety Training Center, located on Crest Haven Rd., is certainly no boy's club. •EVERYTHING you learn here is for a reason," said Capt. Anthony Solis. Stone Harbor Police. "That's why you will pay attention — no one gets hurt because someone forgets to do something properly." The seriousness of the course becomes even more evident when, after it is completed, the officers are issued .38 cal. handguns to be used at their own discretion. More than one week of the two-week course is spent learning how to shoot the handguns as well as 12-gage shotguns. And even more importantly, when to shoot them. "THE PRIOR TRAINING the officers received i was very informal." said i Eugene W. Halton. the county's new director of Public Safety Training, i "Before this program i started four years ago, the i training was done by each individual police depart- i ment. There was no set pro-

gram for the training either; that, too, was up to the department." That was the situation up to two years ago. The summer police training program started in 1984 as an 80-hour course, and was expanded last year to its present 120-hour length RECENTLY ISSUED state rules also provide that the training course be upgraded to 300 hours starting Oct. 1. Besides the gun training, the present course covers such areas as: patrol procedures, accident investigation, handling juveniles, defensive tactics. jail procedure, and court testimony. The special police, who, Halton said, are usually around 22 years old, are hired by the local police departments after testing. They then attend the 120-hour training course and serve as regular police officers for the duration of the summer. "I don't know about the testing everywhere," remarked Solis, "but at Stone Harbor they have to pass four different tests." THESE TESTS cover physical endurance, appearance. and situation handling. They conclude with an oral examination by a review board, of which Solis is a member. Having passed these requirments. the candidates then undergo a background check and psychological testing before they are admitted to the program. "We lose people through that testing even before they make it to this course." said Solis. "Last year we had to go back four times to get the number of (Page 24 Please)

Denise: Nervous And Uncalloused

The summer police program were looking for a few good men — and women. So when Denise Duhrkoff, 23, was laid off from her job as a unit clerk at Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital last January, she applied for the police training program in her home town of Wildwood. "It's a good way to serve the community." she said, "and I think it will be exciting. Actually I'm a little nervous now about being a police officer in Wildwood, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." DUHRKOFF. WHO is one out of approximately 20 women trainees in the program. also noted that the course has helped her physically. "It's an excellent way to learn self-defense tactics. It was also fun to learn how to shoot," she said, "but I wish they would have let me build up my callouses," pointing to a puffy red patch on her trigger finger. Duhrkoff, who is in her second year at Atlantic Community College, plans

to join the force for only this summer. "I'm making about $5.50 an hour this summer It isn't bad. even though it is a cut in pay compared to what I made at Burdette Tomlin." she remarked. —Will Dennis rm fiH * Dori« Ward CUFFED — Denise Duhrkoff cuffs a fellow trainee.