OVERLAND POLICE EXPLORERS RECEIVE AWARDS

  Six youth members, and two police officers who serve as advisors, from the Overland Police Explorer Post recently traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado, to participate in the National Law Enforcement Explorers Conference.

They joined over 3,000 other Explorers, adult leaders and staff from throughout the nation at the 16th Biannual conference July 21-26th at Colorado State University. The purpose of the conference was to provide a training experience for Law Enforcement Explorers and to contribute to the development of skills required in the law enforcement profession.

Exploring offers young people aged 14 through 20 an opportunity to learn about special interests and vocational choices in association with business and community organizations. Founded in 1973, Law Enforcement Exploring is a program for youth who are interested in the field of law enforcement. Nearly

50,000 young people belong to over 3,000 Exploring posts that are sponsored by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The conference featured competitions sponsored by the nation's top law enforcement organizations, providing realistic and practical experiences to prepare Explorers for the types of situations they would have to face in law enforcement careers. Overland Explorers participated in the following events: Shoot/Don't Shoot, Hostage Negotiation, Traffic Accident Investigation, and Domestic Crisis Intervention.

Members of the post participated in the Exploring USA exhibition. They described the post's programs.

Several explorers competed in the individual Air-Pistol Competition.

A wide range of seminars gave participants information on a host of topics including Bomb Investigations, Cyber Crime Fraud, Self-Defense Techniques, Protecting Our National Borders, and Surveillance Methods and Technology.

Overland's Explorers took 3rd place nationally in the Exploring USA Crime Prevention Category and placed in the top 10 percent in the Shoot Don't Shoot Competition.

Police Explorers are one of many youth programs offered by officers of the Overland Police Department.