SALT LAKE CITY — If you’re a high school-aged student and even remotely interested in law enforcement, we might have an option for you: the Salt Lake Police Explorer Program. It can help teens and young adults become better community members even if they don’t wind up becoming an officer.
Looking back on his teenage years, current Salt Lake City police officer Yaier Javaid says the Explorer program changed his life. Turning a shy, immigrant teenager from Pakistan into a much more self-assured individual who eventually became convinced he wanted to give back to his adopted community. “It taught us a lot of good things," Yaier remembered. "I was able to accelerate my career in law enforcement. I also served three years in the military.”
But officer Javaid isn’t sure if he’d be where he is today had he not entered the Salt Lake City police explorer program while he was in high school. “I’m not going to lie, I was a quiet kid, kept everything to myself, but it definitely gave me a boost to go out and try new things.”
About every three weeks, Salt Lake Police Department ushers in a new class of explorers. It’s open for young people between the ages of 14 and 20.
Salt Lake Officer Mike Ruff has been involved with the Explorers for years and actually interacted with Yaier Javaid when he was a teen. Officer Ruff now works with him every day.
“We tend to meet people on their worst days. This is one of those things where I get to mentor kids and see kids on a daily basis," Officer Ruff stated. "They bring us a lot of joy and a lot of fun, so it’s kind of the good side of the job to counteract some of those other things we do.”
And even if you don’t wind up going into law enforcement, Officer Ruff says there are solid life skills you learn being in the Explorer program. But each year they do wind up with several police recruits who have gone through the explorer program.
If you’re interested, you can go to the program's website here.
