A one-week academy in Thomasville is giving dozens of local kids real-world exposure to law enforcement and fire safety careers through hands-on training.
More than 20 students, ages 1116, took part in the Junior Law Enforcement Academy, which runs 8 AM to 5 PM for one week. The camp includes demos from the GBI bomb squad, SWAT, U.S. Marshals, and training from local police and fire departments. Thomasville Fire responds to over 6,000 calls a year and hopes early education will inspire future firefighters and EMTs.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As agencies struggle to fill positions and plan for the future, one Thomasville program is turning young curiosity into real-life readiness.
I’m showing you how local kids are learning fire and police skills that could shape tomorrow’s first responders.
The Junior Law Enforcement Academy is more than just summer fun.
It’s a full week from 8 to 5, packed with team-building, leadership training, and hands-on activities.
And for many of these 11 to 16-year-olds, it’s sparking real interest in public safety careers down the line.
“We have campers that come back. They try to come back year after year until they finally age out. So that lets me know that we’re doing something right. If they want to keep coming back and keep learning and keep doing the different activities that we do. And I hope that some of those will continue as they go into their adult years as well,” said Parker.
Sergeant Crystal Parker from the Thomasville Police Department leads the camp and says support keeps growing.
She’s brought in agencies from all over to get kids involved.
“Obviously, we work with Thomas County Sheriff’s Office on this. They helped us out with crime scene investigation. We had the GBI bomb squad come out and help. We work with Thomasville Fire Rescue. Sometimes we’ll have the U.S. Marshal Service come out and do a demo for us. We have a lot of internal teams that work. Like the SWAT team came out and did a demo with us yesterday,” said Parker.
Beyond police work, kids get a deep dive into fire rescue too, learning how the fire department responds to more than 6,000 calls each year.
Captain Michael Mann says interest in this field is shrinking, even though the need keeps growing.
“But for years, you know, the fire service, EMS service, police, we’ve all been short-staffed, understaffed. It’s a hard career for people to get into, not really to get into, but it’s just not as prevailing,” said Captain Mann, from Thomasville’s fire department.
Captain Mann hopes programs like this inspire the next wave of firefighters and paramedics, showing kids the benefits and lifestyle that come with the job.
“We hope to get out there. We hope to encourage our younger generation to take over jobs such as this because it is one of those jobs that offers a lot of different options, has a lot of benefits for the way we work, the lifestyle it provides as far as, you know, shift work,” said Mann.
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In Thomasville, I’m Layan Abu Tarboush, ABC27
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