Chief shuts down Explorers program

Declining participation leads to suspension of the youth program, although it might be revived if interest increases.

By CHRIS TISCH
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 1, 2002

CLEARWATER -- Police Chief Sid Klein has decided to close down the department's Explorers program because of shrinking attendance from youngsters and a lack of interest among officers to serve as advisers.

Klein said the Explorers post is not being eliminated, just deactivated. He said the program, which has won first place in the state's overall team competition three times in the past seven years, could start up again if more young people expressed interest in joining.

Klein said the decision was a painful one, but one he saw coming for a while as numbers dipped. The post recently had a roster of only six members, and the department wanted 15 to 20.

"The straw that broke the camel's back is we are dealing with apathy, from a lack of candidates for the post and a lack of interest in trying to obtain sufficient and qualified advisers for the post," Klein said.

The Explorers were told last month about the decision. Klein sent home an apologetic letter to parents.

The news upset some of the young people and their parents.

"They're telling the kids who take the right side of the tracks, "Sorry, that's it,' " said Alice Rezendes, whose 15-year-old son, Adam, has been with the post about a year. "It's just really a terrible thing. They just threw these kids out the door."

Adam, who wants to be an FBI agent, said the Explorers were shocked when told at a meeting that the post would close.

"The girls were all crying that night," he said. "It stinks. I think it was a bad decision."

In a letter to Klein, Alice Rezendes and her husband, Joseph, said officers could do more to recruit young people to inflate numbers. She also criticized the department for not including parents in the decision.

Ryan Stuart, captain of the post, said he also thought the department could have recruited more.

"I wish it wasn't closing because it was very beneficial with what I want to do in my future," said the 16-year-old who wants to be a police officer.

Klein said the department has "done everything we can reasonably do" to recruit new members. He said he mentions the post during meetings in the community. The program also is featured on the department's Web site.

Another problem was getting officers involved. Advisers devoted about 25 percent of their work to the post. That's significant, especially when officers were not paid for offduty work with the post.

"Everybody leads a busy life, and this is a very significant commitment of an individual's time," Klein said.

There also was the question of resources. "That's time we're taking them off the street," Klein said of officers' work with the post.

The Clearwater Explorers Post has been active for more than 30 years. The post placed first in the competition at the the Florida Association of Police Explorers state competition in 1996, 1997 and 2000.

Klein said the decline of membership is troubling.

"I think interests and values change," he said. "And perhaps what was popular at one time is no longer popular or fashionable -- perhaps to be affiliated with the police. And that is a sad state of affairs."

Clearwater post advisers encouraged members to join posts at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office or the Largo Police Department, which has about a dozen members.

Largo's Explorer advisers said they have heard that some of the Clearwater Explorers might be joining but haven't received any calls yet. The advisers plan to call the Clearwater young people to see if they are interested, said Capt. John Carroll.

-- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com.

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