Clarence King, 15, is a West Bloomfield High School student who stands out from his peers by taking part in a program called Police Explorers. While he is only a sophomore, King has a vision for his future: a badge and a blue uniform. 

Police Explorers is short for Law Enforcement Exploring. This nationwide program gives teenagers a chance to work with their local police department to become trained and ready for a career in law enforcement. They participate in ride-alongs, connect with the community, run through drills and more.

King works with the Police Explorers at the Dearborn Police Department. He said he went through many struggles to find the right department. He first had his sights set on the Southfield Police Department, but they shut their program down due to funding issues. His second inquiry was with the Oakland County Police Department, but their age requirement is 16 years old. Finally, he was accepted into Dearborn’s Police Explorers program and has been with the department for over a year. 

King said his main motivation for becoming a police officer is protecting people from being victims of crime.

A typical day in the program for King is attending meetings then going to training. Clearing buildings, controlling traffic, learning defensive tactics, physical training and writing tickets were just a few topics he listed. King said this training was hands-on. 

“It was my very first ‘officer down’ scenario,” he said. “We were being shot at by stem bullets, so we had to respond. I was trying my best not to get shot at. It was an interesting scenario.”

The most important lessons he has been taught so far are discipline, how to handle situations and how to resolve arguments, King said.

King is dedicated to helping those in his community and knows his experience with the Police Explorers will help him in the future. He said he hopes to be an asset in patrolling the streets one day. 

King will be applying for an internship with the Dearborn Police Department this summer. For anyone else interested in working with law enforcement, he highly recommends looking into Police Explorers.