The NJ Cops Magazine Series … Police Academy Cape May County Episode IV: After Hours
Recruit Anthony Millevoi in the bunk room near the front desk where he must spend the night as Duty Officer.
Night Shift
When day is done and the recruits go back to the barracks, they pay attention to the details that could very well make the biggest difference when they get on the job.
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL n PHOTOS BY JIM CONNOLLY
Circles. Hundreds and hundreds of circles. Thousands, even. The wherewithal to complete the circles that create perfectly polished shoes leads to the development of optimum law enforcing ability.
After the circles come the creases. Got to chase away the creases to make up the impeccable uniform that gives a law enforcement officer consummate command presence.
Circles and creases make up much of the nightly routine at the Cape May County Police Academy. And note-taking, report-writing, studying and protein-loading fill out the rest of the evening until lights out comes at 10 p. m.
What happens to the recruits in the barracks of the only residential police academy in New Jersey stays with the recruits for the rest of their careers. And what happens inside not only offers some relief from the stress of a 16-hour training day that just passed and relaxing and rebooting for the next 16-hour training day but reinforces the lessons that make practicing law enforcement part of the nightly ritual.
“ It definitely creates an environment to practice multi-tasking, working under stress and just attention to detail,” says Recruit Eric Fisher.“ It makes you stop for a second to think about what you are doing and pay strict attention to detail.”
Episode IV of Police Academy Cape May County goes where most law enforcement officers don’ t get to see, inside the living quarters for the seven women and 48 men who inhabit this combination dormitory / locker room / study center. It is also where attention to detail, team building, communication and discipline become habit and instinct.
“ Attention to detail is the key point to police work,” reasons Recruit James Collins, a Class 2 Officer for six years who is headed for the Wildwood Crest Police Department.“ You go to a call – say aggravated assault – and it takes you to a trial. There’ s a victim who desperately needs this person to be found guilty to get some kind of closure. In your reports, you have that detail to make sure that case gets through that trial and that person is found guilty.”
So that is where the circles and creases lead, because before they can hit lights out, the recruits must put on the polish and be wrinkle-free mentally, physically and professionally. And that is why the barracks have become a haven that is as critical a part of their journey as the classroom, they gym, the range and anything else on campus.
Living Color
So you want to know what gives the living quarters its, well, character? It’ s the smells.
The smell of shoe polish infiltrates each recruit’ s nostrils and is the aroma to fall asleep with. And when you put 56 hard-working, aspiring cops into essentially a reception desk, four rooms and a kitchen, well, there are going to be some smells.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 54 www. njcopsmagazine. com ■ NOVEMBER 2016 53