May 26, 2022- The Jerry J. Dawson Civic Leadership Institute serves high school students in the Decatur Macon County community through five pillars, one of which is law enforcement.
Students who express interest in the Institute’s law enforcement pillar, will receive a hands-on experience from local law enforcement. They will have an opportunity to participate in activities at the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center. Participants will also have an opportunity to intern with the Decatur Police Department, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Central Illinois Regional Dispatch Center.
This June, the DCLI will be launching its’ law enforcement boot camp. The boot camp will start on June 1st and finish on June 30th. The experience will include time spent at the Decatur Police Department and in criminal justice classes at Richland Community College.
The program will feature workshops that will focus on crime scene investigations, physical training, understanding of police use of force, and a distracted driving simulator that will show the dangers of impaired driving.
Once June wraps up, the boot camp will resume in July, with a 2-week camp where participants will move into the Woods Apartments on Millikin University’s campus. The 2-week stay will be July 16th through July 30th.
Lt. Erik Ethell, DPD, who assists Dr. Juanita Morris, DCLI coordinator, with the law enforcement pillar, is hopeful that the students who chose to participate in the law enforcement pillar and boot camp, will pursue a career in law enforcement here in Decatur.
“We are gonna have several different activities that the kids are gonna do as part of this process,” Lt. Ethell said. “Just to get the familiar with law enforcement, to get them to to know police officers a little bit better. If there is any interest in law enforcement down the road, hopefully connect with those kids and help mentor them. As they go to school, through Richland or wherever they choose to get their education from, with hopes of maybe they come back and work for the Decatur Police Department.
If interested, register here. Must be high school students. There are limited spaces
