By Trooper Gary Cutler
Once again, it’s time to look towards the youth of Colorado where we give them an experience of a lifetime. The mission of a Colorado State Patrol Trooper is not just enforcing the laws on the state’s highways, and interstates. We are also very involved in educating the public in various areas.
One way we do this is working with Colorado’s youth. Once a year for one week in July, the Colorado State Patrol allows teens who are at least 16 years old from across the state a chance to see how State Troopers are trained at our academy in Golden.
The goal of the CSP Youth Academy is to assist in the development of future leaders for Colorado through team exercises and individual achievement. It is a weeklong adventure for the 45 teens that are accepted. Some of the academy requirements include that they must be a junior or senior in the fall of 2020, write an essay, have two letters of recommendation, and complete an interview with troopers.
During the week of activities, they are constantly supervised by State Troopers and mentored in various areas that will help them in life or whatever career they decide to follow. The youth stay at our academy, eat at our facilities, and gain friendships with other youth from across the state.
While in the youth academy, teens will have an enjoyable, fun-filled week and get to experience a long list of activities. Some of the activities include defensive driving on our state patrol track, firearms safety, self-defense tactics, traffic stops, building searches, team building, and ethics in law enforcement, just to name a few. At the end of the week there is also a special field trip for the participants. Past years have been visits to the Bronco’s football facilities, and Rockies games.
The Youth Academy is not just for teens interested in law enforcement. The week-long class will help them in their future endeavors. It will also be an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. If they want to continue with a career as a trooper, well, we won’t complain. We have had several of our Youth Academy participants become State Troopers, and we couldn’t be prouder.
The academy is free of charge. It is paid for by private donors. For more information contact Captain Lawrence Hilton at 303-273-1882, your local Colorado State Patrol Office, or visit our website: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/csp/youth-academy
This year’s youth academy is July 19th-25th. Applications are due by March 22nd. 2020.
As always, safe travels!