First basic academy class cleans up park, Boys’ Ranch
The first class of basic academy students to attend the Harold
Holden Justice Training Center took a welcome break from long days
in the classroom and long nights studying to become officers for
the Santa Clara County’s Sheriff’s department.
First basic academy class cleans up park, Boys’ Ranch
The first class of basic academy students to attend the Harold Holden Justice Training Center took a welcome break from long days in the classroom and long nights studying to become officers for the Santa Clara County’s Sheriff’s department.
Headed by class President Daryl McChristian, more than two dozen academy students organized a cleanup Aug. 19 at Murphy Springs Park in Morgan Hill during the morning hours and bonded with residents at the James Boys Ranch in the afternoon.
“We got there a little early and we got to business right away,” McChristian said, of their morning task at the park.
The Harold Holden Justice Training Center is on the outskirts of Morgan Hill, adjacent to the James Boys Ranch. The buildings were closed for years, since the juvenile detention center for boys under 15 was closed.
The Sheriff’s department worked to renovate the buildings for use as a training center for law enforcement agencies.
The first class of recruits for the Sheriff’s department started their 900-hour training program May 22. When they complete their training, all the recruits will work for the Sheriff’s department in Santa Clara County. As part of the requirements by the state for basic police academies, the students needed to plan a “community project.”
“It was our goal to set the standard for the academy coming after us in October,” McChristian said. “The pressure is always there to make sure we set good standards and do things the right way.”
McChristian and other recruits coordinated the day’s events with Morgan Hill city employees and the James Boys Ranch staff, which is home to juvenile offenders, ages 16 to 18.
The morning portion of their project included clearing out tree trimmings at Murphy Springs Park and picking up trash at the neighborhood park. The trainees finished their morning shift at the park ahead of schedule and headed over to James Boys Ranch.
At the Ranch, they each planned to work with two residents of the juvenile detention center on landscaping and minor rebuilding projects. But the work at hand gave way to conversations about the reasons the youngsters were at the center and even a game of basketball.
“The first few hours, we were working together. We cleaned up fire burns,” McChristian said. “For the second part, we decided to go to a classroom and talk a little bit.”
The teens surprised McChristian with how open they were with the recruits, admitting to past mistakes and discussing plans for the “We didn’t expect it to come out the way it did,” he said. “It was a good learning experience for us. For them, they got to see us. They know we are trying to be in law enforcement.
The interaction allowed the boys a chance to “see us as normal people, not cops,” McChristian said.
“It put a different light on law enforcement officers. We are just regular people,” he said. “We didn’t want them to think we think they are all bad kids or we just want to come down on them.”
When asked about their experience by the soon-to-be officers, the residents of the James Boys Ranch said they enjoyed the time with the recruits and hoped they would come.
Moving forward, new classes of Sheriff’s recruits will continue the visits to the Boys Ranch and coordinate an annual park clean up.
