VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Beach Police Department has introduced a new service called Camp Blue Line. It’s a summer camp designed for children ages 12-16.
Organizers say the camp has many benefits: it’s not only educational, but they see it as a recruiting tool to inspire teens and help them make informed decisions should they want to go to the police academy.
“All of that ultimately leads to more officers on the street, which hopefully leads to lower crime rates,” said Lt. Adam Bernstein.
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Bernstein works with the training bureau of recruiting and selection for VBPD. He said they have about 50 vacancies out of the 800 sworn officer positions. He told us that while filling those is a challenge, the percentage is good compared to many other cities across the country.
One challenge recruiters face is negative images spread through social media, Bernstein believes. VBPD is trying to counteract that by providing educational opportunities.
“We encourage people to do ridealongs, talk to an officer, kind of get that firsthand perspective, because it’s not everything you see in social media. We have officers out in the community doing great things every single day," he said.
Lt. Kevin Lokey, Commander of VBPD’s Youth Services Unit, said camps like this also build trust, which is essential.
“For us to be successful as a police department, we have to have the trust of the community. They have to trust us when they’re a victim. They have to be able to trust us to call us and report a crime, to trust that we’re going to investigate it and handle it appropriately and to treat them fairly. They have to trust us if they’re a witness," he said.
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Lokey said this is the first time Camp Blue Line has been offered and all the seats were filled within a few days.
Participants got to see demonstrations at special operations and the new headquarters. They also learned about investigations, forensics, firearm safety, school safety, physical fitness, and mental wellness.
For more on recruiting and youth opportunities with VBPD, click here.
