Ferguson Police Officer Paul Boudreau is in his third year as a school resource officer at McCluer-South Berkeley High School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. That made him an obvious choice to head the new Law Enforcement Explorer Program post with the Ferguson Police Department.
“I’ve already had great relationships with a lot of the students at the high school, so I was
excited to take part in the Explorer Program” Boudreau said. “Students are able to come
to me and ask me questions about how to handle certain situations, so I have that role as
kind of like a mentor/counselor.”
Boudreau will get to develop those relationships even further, while potentially helping to
develop future police officers. Law Enforcement Exploring is a program for youths, ages
14-20, who are interested in learning about careers in law enforcement. Qualified
applicants will work closely with members of the Ferguson Police Department.
“The Explorer Program gives an opportunity for youth to get into a career field early,”
Boudreau said. “They get an opportunity to work in close contact with us and learn about
law enforcement at an early age.”
Boudreau said that previously area teenagers would have had to go through the Florissant
or Hazelwood Police Departments in order to participate in the Explorer Program. That
changed recently thanks to a local chapter of Boy Scouts of America, which founded
Career Awareness Exploring in the 1970s.
“We have a lot of students from the areas of Normandy, Berkeley, Kinloch, Ferguson and
surrounding cities, so they now have the opportunity to join the Ferguson Explorer post,”
Boudreau said. Other officers in the Ferguson department will assist him.
Participants will meet regularly at the police department for hands-on activities including
accident reconstruction. They will also learn about constitutional and Missouri statute
law. Boudreau said the explorers will work on community service projects and
occasionally meet with members of the new Ferguson Fire Department Explorer post to
learn basics such as first aid training.
The explorers will take ride-alongs with police officers to get a firsthand look at day-today
duties. “This will give them the opportunity to see what kinds of calls we go on,”
Boudreau said. “It’s a great opportunity for the kids.”
It’s also a great opportunity, Boudreau added, for the local teenagers and their parents to
become familiar with other members of the police department. For more information, call
the Ferguson Police Department at 314-522-3100.