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Hazelwood Police Explorers Bring Home First-Place Trophy from National Law Enforcement Conference
Hazelwood Police Explorers Post #9217 proved it ranks among the best at the 2010 National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference recently held at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. This group competed against 284 other Posts, involving 2,800 Law Enforcement Explorers, and brought home the First-Place trophy for the “Traffic Stop” competition.
The National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference is conducted every other year. Thousands of young people, ages 14 to 21, from all across the country, Puerto Rico and Canada attend this event with their adult leaders to show their abilities in all aspects of police work. They come together for a week of team and individual competitions, seminars, demonstrations, exhibits, recreation and fun.
“We are very proud of the fact that our Hazelwood Police Explorers rank #1 in the nation for the ‘Traffic Stop’ category. They outperformed many other Explorer Posts that represented larger police departments and had access to more resources,” said Police Chief Carl Wolf, Hazelwood Police Department. “This honor is not only a direct result of the flawless execution performed by our young Explorer members, but also the hard work and dedication exhibited by our team of advisors and instructors who donated their time and training knowledge. Their tireless efforts spending nearly every Saturday this past year working with and instructing our Explorers on traffic stop procedures and tactics made it all possible.”
The team of Hazelwood Police Explorers that competed in the traffic stop competition consisted of Nicholas Valenti, age 20, Matthew Nelson, age 19, and Herbert Spears, age 17. Their adult leaders included Sgt. Don Routh, Explorer Post Coordinator, ret. Lt. C Ray White, P.O. Mike Monticelli and P.O. William Russ. Other Hazelwood police officers with the Traffic Management Team who helped with their training were P.O. Tony Kristo and P.O. Norm Mars.
In the Traffic Stop competition, each team was given a scenario and evaluated on their approach and execution. They were graded according to a point system with 98 being the highest. The scenario handled by the Hazelwood Police Explorers involved a traffic stop for a bad tail light. While checking the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), they discovered that the license plates were wrong on the car. According to Sgt. Routh, “Although the driver tried to argue with the Explorers in an attempt to provoke a negative response, they remained calm and disciplined which was a reflection of the excellent training given by their adult leaders. They ended up with a perfect score of 100 percent.”
Other team competition events offered at the 2010 National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference included the following: Arrest and Search; Bomb Threat Response; Crime Scene Search; Crime Prevention; Domestic Crisis Intervention; Shoot/Don’t Shoot; Hostage Negotiation; Burglary in Progress; Traffic Accident Investigation; White Collar Crime; Emergency Field First Aid; and Drill Team. Trophies were awarded to the first, second and third-place finishers in each competition along with two plaques for honorable mentions.
Those interested in becoming a member of the Hazelwood Police Explorers Post #9217, which is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, must meet the following criteria: participants must be young adults between the ages of 14 and 21; if age 14, must be out of 8th grade; maintain a “C” grade average in school or above; and pass a background criminal/juvenile delinquency background check. There are currently 20 members in the Post. They meet on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at the Hazelwood Police Station, starting at 6:45 p.m. The Explorers have already begun their training for the 2012 event in Fort Collins, Colo. For more information on membership, contact P.O. Mike Monticelli at (314) 838-5000.
