Cadets Experience Law Enforcement at Jr. Police Academy

Whether it was SWAT demonstrations or crime scene investigations, New Jersey’s next generation of police officers saw it all during the Junior Police Academy program held last week.

On June 28, a graduation ceremony was held by the Bloomingdale Police Department for the cadets who had passed through the program, which began on June 24.

The young cadets were residents aged 11 to 13, and were guided by Patrolman Marc Loveland, who ran the program.

Captain Raymond Muller was also instrumental in assisting Loveland, and the children got to experience a very proficient program.

The staff was also comprised of Sergeant Mark Gildersleeve, Sergeant Michael Boffa and Sergeant Mark Johnson.

The director of the Salvation Army’s Star Lake Camp, Greg Tuck, was also included in thanks by the Bloomingdale Police Department after much of his camp was used for activities during the program.

Along the way, other Bloomingdale Police Officers also donated time out of their days to come by and help the cadets progress through the eye-opening program.

Some of the activities that the preteens engaged in were: crime scene investigations concocted by Detective/Sergeant Steve Caputo of Bloomingdale PD, along with meeting K9 dogs from the Hamburg Police Department and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department.

After learning how instrumental the dogs are in law enforcement, they attended a mock trial put on by Bloomingdale Municipal Court Judge, Andrew Wubbenhorst.

Succeeding that, they witnessed a demonstration by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team and watched as the town’s Volunteer Fire Department performed a vehicular extrication during an accident simulation.

To top it all off, they observed an Atlantic Air Ambulance Corporation helicopter come to the Walter T. Bergen School.

“Congratulations (go out) to all of the cadets who successfully participated and completed the academy,” read a press release provided to Patch from Ptl. Daniel Fletcher.