Members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Unit recently began their Summer Youth Initiative program – a four week camp for 80 middle school students. “This is a critical time of the year, as many of these children would otherwise be at home alone during the day, so this camp gives them structured and positive activities in which they can participate,” said Sheriff Troy D. Berry. “More importantly, this gives us the perfect opportunity to pair middle school students with the School Resource Officer (SRO) who will be assigned to their future high school,” Sheriff Berry said.
During the four weeks, students will take courses in health, finances, career readiness, and even become certified in CPR. In addition, they will take part in physical activities such as baseball and other games and go on field trips at the end of each week. On their last day of camp, the SRO’s will take the students to Kings Dominion.
For Sgt. Mike Vaughn, a supervisor in the School Resource Unit, this camp provides constant mentoring and fellowship. “As any parent knows, consistency is key with children, so we work to build strong and reliable relationships between our officers and the kids the entire time we’re together. The students love the camp and many return after their first year because they enjoy it so much. I’m grateful that our agency and our schools share the long-term view that investing in our children will pay dividends in the future,” said Vaughn.
The Summer Youth Initiative program is being held at St. Charles High School this year. Students are selected based on input from schools and other recommendations.
Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting CHARLES + the tip to CRIMES (274637) or submitting tips online at tipsubmit.com. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Learn more at the CCSO’s website.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency comprised of more than 600 police, corrections and civilian personnel responsible for protecting more than 150,000 residents. The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2001 and has been designated as a CALEA Gold Standard of Excellence agency since 2011. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.