Goodyear Police give teens a behind the scenes look of life in law enforcement

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (FOX 10) — Goodyear Police officers are giving teenagers an inside look at law enforcement with their annual police academy for high school teens.

"Many of these kids are interested in going into police work and these are their formative years," said Lisa Berry, Public Information Officer for Goodyear Police. "When they're in high school, this is an opportunity for them to stay on track, for them to see what they need to do to get into the career of law enforcement."

On Tuesday, the week-long program focused on crisis negotiation training, a course all officers must take and pass.

"They do a scenario where they're talking to a potential person who's barricaded themselves into a building, so they get to learn communication skills on how our negotiators bring a peaceful resolution," explained Berry.

Throughout the week, officers will train the teens on other situations like firearm safety, traffic stops, and impairment.

"They have so much fun this week, it's all hands-on, so they really get to play with the toys so to speak, they get to try on the swat gear, wear the impairment goggles and see what it's really like to try to do a task when you're impaired," said Berry.

Goodyear Police say, in a time when there is tension between law enforcement and the community, it's programs like these that could help to spark a change.