Junior police academy grads inspire county’s governing board

The long arm of the law has become a friendly pat on the back for one group of young people who recently completed a rigorous training course under the auspices of the office of Alamance County’s sheriff.

These 27 teens are the latest graduates of an annual junior police academy that the sheriff’s office regularly conducts in partnership with the municipal police departments in Burlington, Mebane, and Graham. Chosen from a list of middle school-age students that the local school system has labeled “at risk,” the academy’s cadets are treated to a range of structured, reaffirming experiences that aim to transform their views of authority – and their self-images, too.

Upon completing the four-week course, this year’s graduates had an opportunity to demonstrate their chops before Alamance County’s board of commissioners on Monday. Some, like Leah Brown, who was dubbed this year’s “most improved” female cadet, even had the honor of addressing the commissioners when they convened their latest regularly-scheduled meeting that evening.

“I was doing JPA because I was having behavioral issues at school,” Brown conceded in a self-possessed tone that belied her young age. “At first I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think it would benefit me…But the further I got in the program the more I understood how it was benefiting me…I understood I was learning respect and understood I was learning not to give up.”

Brown’s performance certainly clinched the respect of John Paisley, Jr., the chairman of Alamance County’s commissioners, who readily “gave it up” to this superlative academy grad.

“You need to be a leader in your school,” Paisley told Brown after he offered a few words of encouragement to all of the academy’s graduates.  “The program that you were just in is one of the most exceptional programs that Alamance County has,” he declared, “and I am proud of each and every one of you.”