Community Policing Bureau - Garden Grove

The Police Cadet and Office Aide program offers collegestudents the opportunity to work in various nonenforcementuniformed positions that allow them toassess their further interest in law enforcement. At thesame time, the Department is given the opportunityto evaluate them for potential future full-time swornor civilian positions. In 2011, the Department hiredtwo police cadets as academy recruits, both of whomsuccessfully graduated and are now working as fulltimepatrol officers.The job duties and responsibilities are similar for bothPolice Cadets and Office Aides. The Cadet position,however, is reserved for those interested in becominga full-time police officer. In 2011, PSD conductedtwo Police Cadet and Office Aide recruitments, whichbrought seven new and highly motivated youngindividuals into the Police Cadet and Office Aideprogram.Cadets and Office Aides change assignments every sixmonths, so they can become familiar with a variety ofDepartment operations. In addition to their Department assignments, Cadets are required to be enrolled in college on a fulltimebasis, and make satisfactory progress towards a degree. Police Cadets and Office Aides may be assigned to a number ofdifferent Divisions, including:Crime Prevention • Front Desk • Communications • Property and EvidenceForensics • Investigations • Traffic • Juvenile Justice CenterIn addition to their regular duties, Cadets and Office Aides help provide staffing for additional events, such as: DUI checkpoints,and the annual Strawberry, Korean, Arab, and Tet festivals, and other city events.Garden Grove Police Explorer Post 1020 is an all-volunteer corps of youngmen and women from the community between the ages of 14 and 20.The Explorers donate their time to many events both in Garden Grove andother cities throughout Orange County. For example, they assist with theStrawberry, Tet, and Korean Festivals, summer Concerts in the Park, andmany events outside Garden Grove. They also donate their time to localcivic organizations, such as the Kiwanis and Lions clubs, and assist theNeighborhood Traffic Unit at every DUI checkpoint during the year. In 2011,the Explorers of Post 1020 donated approximately 8,000 hours of service tothe community.The Garden Grove Police Explorer program is the gateway into theDepartment’s recruiting “farm system.” In order to be accepted into theprogram, the applicant must attend several meetings, pass an oral interviewand pass a background check. Once accepted, the Explorer must pass a seriesof tests, and then attend a five-day academy, which is conducted in a similarfashion to a military boot camp. The Explorer advisors, who are Garden GrovePolice officers and sergeants, work hard to train the Explorers in the areasnecessary to perform their duties and to prepare them for the positions ofCadet and Police Recruit. The Explorer program has been very successful inthis regard, as more than 30 current Garden Grove Police employees wereonce Explorers prior to promoting to their current positions.As a reward for their hard work and countless hours of dedication to thecommunity and the Police Department, the Explorers were allowed to travelout of state to participate in various competitions. In January, Garden GrovePost 1020 competed in the Chandler (AZ) Tactical Competition and earnedfirst place honors in both the Hostage Negotiation and Bus Assault events.