Peoria Police Department Youth Citizen Police Academy: purchase of police equipment, community policing overtime, mental health awareness training, and youth programs.

The City of Peoria Police Department will use funding allocation from the BJA FY 2024 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to administer a Youth Citizen Police Academy (YCPA) in the summer months for students in 7th and 8th grade who live in or attend school in the City of Peoria. YCPA will be hosted at the Peoria Police Department which will better accommodate the activities and the number of participants.

YCPA will focus on building relationships between the students and the School Resource Officers along with other officers from within the department. The students will participate in multiple hands-on activities which include team building, vape education, drug and alcohol education, equipment demonstrations, crime scene investigations, fingerprinting, traffic and bicycle safety, firearm safety, and social media safety, all while focusing on Community Oriented Policing with an emphasis on creating partnerships. Participants will also partake in presentations by the Special Weapons and Tactics team members, Technical Support Team members, K-9 officers, and the Traffic Services Division.