A local camp is giving the young participants the chance to find out what it takes to carry a badge.
"They protect us every day, they try their best, they never get tired, and they never ever give up," says Lexi Dougles, one of the cadets, about the Cabot Police Department.
She and other students are learning the ropes...to safety and enforcing the law.
"If you see a gun, don't touch it. Rule two is leave the area immediately, and the 3rd rule is tell an adult," Lexi explains.
Officers with the Cabot Police Department walked the middle school students through certain parts of the job, such as crime scene and accident investigations, along with running radar on the roads.
"When we drove the golf carts around with the drunk goggles on," Nick Self says of the lesson on the dangers of drinking and driving.
Cadets are also learning many other factors that are involved in being a police officer.
"The more we invest in them right now, the better payout we have when they get older. So, we wanted to get that interaction with them so they see us in a different light," says John Dodd with the Cabot Police Department.
Dodd is the school resource officer and spearheaded the first Cabot Police Department Junior Police Academy. They take kids on tours of the police department, jail and dispatch center. It's a hands-on approach with activities like fingerprinting, knocking down targets with Nerf guns and searchimg for evidence.
"They're participating all day, they're very enthusiastic and very hard working and we want those traits to continue because these kids are our future leaders," he explains.
The cadets discovered police work is tough.
"I look up to them a little bit more," says Nick.
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