A group of students from South Hills High School and Eastern Hills High School in Fort Worth ISD have enrolled in the inaugural year of a criminal justice program.
The nine-month program will give participating students preliminary police training and qualify them to become 911 operators by the time they are 18.
While the program might be expanded later on, it currently has 25 students enrolled.
One of them, Lili Hernandez, is a 16-year-old JROTC student at South Hills High School. While she has her heart set on joining the Army, she is open to pursuing a career with the police at some point.
“Ever since I was a child, the idea of becoming a police officer intrigued me,” Hernandez told WFAA.
“People see cops as like bad people,” she added. “They think ‘oh it’s 12’s they’re bad people.’ But I would hope I could probably improve their visions on police officers and anybody that works in law enforcement.”
The unique initiative is part of a larger project to foster stronger community relationships and address staffing shortages within the Fort Worth Police Department, which currently has 144 unfilled positions.
These staffing woes are shared by the Dallas Police Department, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Despite a City report recommending about three officers for every 1,000 residents, or approximately 4,000 officers total, only 3,100 sworn officers are currently serving at DPD.
Students who complete the new criminal justice program can carry on their training at a police academy and graduate at the age of 21, which may help mitigate this trend.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it,” Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said during an event launching the program, according to WFAA. “I believe that’s exactly what all of [us] in this room are doing today.”
“Thank you for trusting in us and believing in us,” Noakes continued. “We believe in you. And I see nothing but amazing things coming from this.”
