Austin Minor, a seventh-grader at New Hope Middle School, has dreamed of one day becoming an attorney and working in tandem with law enforcement.
Because of that, Minor said he was ecstatic to get a glimpse into the life of Lowndes County deputies this week at the department’s Junior Sheriff’s Academy.
While Minor enjoyed practicing self-defense moves with deputies and seeing all the tools used by the department’s STING unit, Minor said the most striking lesson he learned this week was about how deputies de-escalate arguments while on patrols.
“It was pretty cool,” Minor said. “We talked about stories where we had to de-escalate situations, and I just really learned a lot, and I believe other people learned a lot from it.”
Minor, along with 24 other area middle school students, took part in the academy this week, which included a mock murder trial, presentations from detectives about crime solving and demonstrations of the department’s K-9 units.
The goal of the program, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said, was to show students the role of the department and teach those students practical life skills they could use both in school and in everyday life.
The camp is part of LCSO’s recently developed Pathway to Peace program, which was created earlier this year with several initiatives aimed at curbing recidivism and addressing root causes of early pathways into crime in the county.
“(We are) trying to teach different aspects of what law enforcement does and how it affects them, and (equip) them with a better understanding of how we operate,” Hawkins said. “And have better communication between kids and law enforcement. So we’re starting with the basics (of) conflict resolution, de-escalation, that kind of stuff, to kind of give them some tools to have in their toolbox to help guide them through life.”
‘Building good citizens’
Noah Chism, LCSO public information officer and academy organizer, said some of the activities this week included showing the students firearms and teaching them proper safety measures, self-defense and driving through obstacle courses on golf carts while wearing DUI impairment goggles.
Chism said the point of those hands-on activities was to inspire interest in the important messages behind them, like practicing proper gun safety, understanding the dangers of driving under the influence and de-escalating conflicts before they reach a boiling point.
“If we can teach the kids at this age sort of the same concepts our patrol deputies use out when they’re dealing with folks on calls, and at crime scenes, or on traffic stops, it’s going to be really, really good skills for them to have when they go to school, or when they grow up and get jobs,” Chism said. “… To be able to understand conflict and hopefully resolve those conflicts before it becomes a huge deal, (and) before it becomes potentially dangerous.”
Students were also taught each day about Mississippi law as well before putting that knowledge to use today during a mock murder trial at the Lowndes County Courthouse.
Chism said those lessons were paired alongside others by deputies on the different departments within LCSO, including the narcotics, investigations and patrol units to give a comprehensive look at law enforcement and its importance.
Lt. Rhonda Sanders said organizers also hoped those presentations could showcase career opportunities in law enforcement and maybe garner some interest among some of the students.
“We wanted to build good citizens, (and) we wanted to let them know how important integrity is,” Sanders said. “We wanted (to build) a trust to come and (talk with) law enforcement. … We wanted to put back in the community (a message) that law enforcement is good, (there is) so much on the internet talking about law enforcement, we wanted to pour into positive children and let them know really what law enforcement does.”
Trinitee Boston, a seventh-grader in Lowndes County who is home-schooled, said she was already considering a career in law enforcement, either with the FBI or CIA, but the lessons this week showed her that local agencies also make a difference.
“It’s definitely opened up some (other options) for me to know that this is a job that’s out there, and it’s a job that I can do, so it will definitely be an option,” Boston said.
Boston said the lessons she learned in conflict resolution have already paid dividends at home with her two sisters.
“(The lessons have helped with) general sister stuff, like your stuff is on my side of the room, or that’s my chair (for dinner), kind of stuff,” Boston said. “… (Now) instead of saying ‘Get out of my chair,’ (I say) ‘Hey, we assign seats for dinner, please, can you please sit in your chair, so I can sit in mine.’”
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