On November 5, 2022, Explorers from the Santa Paula Police Department participated in the annual Ventura County Sheriff Explorer Tactical Tournament (VCETT). This event took place at the Sheriff’s Criminal Justice Training Center in Camarillo. The tournament consisted of six patrol based scenarios and a few walk up events. Eleven Explorer POSTS from Ventura County competed in the competition. The department congratulates all the explorers and advisors from our agency as well as all the agencies in the county who participated in this tournament.
The department is proud to announce the Santa Paula Police Explorer POST #2350 took 1st place in both the Tubular Assault scenario and the Check Well-Being scenario. Our Explorer POST was also named the Outstanding POST of the entire competition, giving our POST the honor of being the holder of the VCETT flag for the next year. As part of the honor of being the holder of the VCETT flag, our POST’s name will be the first POST embroidered on the flag.
The mission of the Santa Paula Police Department Explorer Program is to provide for the young adults a strong Community Based Policing Program that will help encourage and guide them to a better path for the future. Through education and training the explorer will learn about leadership, teamwork, discipline, friendship and develop a working knowledge of law enforcement procedures, duties and concepts that might interest them in a possible career in law enforcement.
If you, or someone you know is interested in joining our explorer program, applications can be picked up at the police department or an application can be found at https://www.spcity.org/467/Volunteer-Programs.
The minimum qualifications to be an Explorer are the following:
• 14 to 20 years of age
• Explorer recruits under the age of 18 are required to have the signed consent from their parent or guardian
• Have no arrests or convictions that would prohibit employment as a police officer
• Be in good physical health and be able to participate in physical activities.
• Must maintain a qualifying behavior, character and hold and maintain a “C” grade point average in school.
• Within two years of being appointed the explorer must be able to attend a mandatory training academy.
• Must be able to understand and follow verbal and written directions and be able to communicate both in writing and orally