The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is proud to announce the 2nd Annual North County Law Enforcement Explorer Competition to be held at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center and the Jack Bones Equestrian Center, 26983 Tapia Canyon Road, Castaic. This two day event will be held this Saturday and Sunday, March 23rd and 24th, 2013, between the hours of 8 AM and 3:30 PM, and is sponsored by Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Explorer Posts.

The Sheriff’s Explorer Program is a volunteer partnership between young adults in our community and law enforcement. The program is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Learning for Life program. The explorers, between 14 and 21 years of age, receive extensive training in a police academy setting. They then participate in community affairs and non-hazardous law enforcement activities. The explorer program is great for those youth considering a future career in law enforcement or those who just want to get involved and help out.

This competition has drawn 16 Explorer teams with more than 300 team members from as far away as Arizona and Nevada. The explorer teams will be competing against each other in numerous tactical scenarios. They will also compete in a “mud run” and 5k run.

This entire event has been organized and operated by volunteer staff. Law enforcement officers from several agencies, deputy and reserve deputy sheriffs, as well as Department volunteers have all donated their time to ensure the success of this event.

According to one of the event coordinators, Deputy Scott Short, “The support, participation and efforts of those helping us present this event will help to educate and mold the next generation of law enforcement leaders.” He went on to say, “The Explorer program is a fantastic outreach opportunity which provides our youth with the tools they will need to succeed in life.”

Although the competition and events are only open to registered explorer posts, those interested in finding out more about law enforcement explorers are encouraged to come out and observe the competition. They will have an opportunity to speak with explorers from the Sheriff’s Department about the program.

For more information about the Explorer program, go to www.lasdreserve.org and click on the “Explorer” link, or contact your nearest sheriff’s station.