The Youth Police Academy was made with the intention of teaching children discipline and respect. It has also been considered as a first step into becoming a police officer. In 2018, the NYPD Youth Police Academy starts on July 1, 2018 and graduates on August 10, 2018. The summer program is five days a week (Monday-Friday) and each day, the officers lead an exercise routine. Once a week, the program attends a trip as a reward for doing well during the days of that week, but all the trips are earned. If you do not behave during the week of the trip, you are not permitted to go on the trip. Attendance is also crucial to this camp. If you are absent three days without a doctors note or a prior alert that you were going on vacation, you will not be allowed to come back to the program.
I have attended the New Dorp Youth Police Academy for the summers of 2017 and 2018. The camp taught me how to respect others and how to pay attention when I needed to. The daily exercises were difficult at first, but I gradually got used to them. I made a lot of new friends during my time at YPA so far and I hope to make more in the future. I view the NYPD as heroes and friends to all and that is how I have always viewed them. The only difference is that every year I attend the summer program, my view of the NYPD becomes stronger. The highlight of my time at the New Dorp Youth Police Academy was definitely seeing my friends that I have not talked to since last summer. Seeing familiar faces made me feel more comfortable in coming back to the camp. I also made a few new friends as well.
I have a few recommendations to make next years YPA more successful. First, less second chances. If one company does not behave for a whole week, do not allow them to attend the field trip that week and if only one child does not behave, they shouldn't be allowed to return to the program the following year if they are going to make a joke out of it. Also, I feel if one child does not behave, then only they should be punished, not the whole company (unless its necessary, of course). I hope you take these recommendations into consideration for following years.
The NYPD New Dorp Youth Police Academy is both fun and tiring. Some of the field trips we attend include: Roller Jam, Rab's Country Lanes (bowling), Harmony Day, Fun Station and Rye Play Land. On trip days, we would not normally do the exercises, but if a company does not behave, they may have to do some jumping jacks, sit-ups, squats, and push-ups. Lots of kids walk in very immature then walk out not as immature as they were before they came to the camp. That concludes my essay on the New Dorp Youth Police Academy summer program.
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