MBPD Explorer program looking for a few good kids
MBPD Explorers participated in the Battle of Badges on Aug. 26 and took 2nd place in the unstable subject scenario and in the CSI investigation scenario. Pictured (left to right) are Explorers Sydney Wible, Amos Gilbertson, Roman Pech, Captain Sayeh Kahn, Sarah Hayes and Seth Stern. Photo courtesy MBPD
Manhattan Beach Police Department Sgt. Tim Zins remembers what it was like to be 16. The Manhattan Beach native had no real idea what he wanted to do with his life.
“I was kind of in that lost land,” Zins recalled. “Okay, do I want to go to college? Go to El Camino? What am I going to do?”
A friend told him about the Police Explorer program, which involved going to a police academy for 10 weeks at ECC and then volunteering with MBPD. It sounded interesting, so Zins signed up. It opened his eyes to the possibilities.
“It was the different varieties of jobs that I didn’t know as a 16-year-old were involved in a police department,” Zins said. “It was like, ‘Wow, I could go riding as a motorcycle officer, or be a detective, or be a K-9 handler. Look at all these possibilities.”
He was an Explorer until he was 19, then was hired by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He worked there two years and then came back to MBPD. He’s now been an officer for 25 years.
“I got into the Explorer program, and it gave me direction for what I wanted to do,” Zins said. “I wanted to be a police officer.”
Last month, for the first time in the 30 years, Zins was with the Explorers from MBPD Post #420 for the Battle of the Badge. The Pasadena competition included Explorers from all over Southern California. The Battle included 10 areas, including an obstacle course, handling a burglary call, a police ambush scenario, an active shooter situation, a CSI investigation, a domestic violence call, a DUI stop, and a “5051” call, which is dealing with an unstable person on a police call.
MBPD’s Explorers finished second in both CSI and 5150.
“Many of us who work for South Bay agencies started as Explorers,” Zins said. “Now, overseeing this program, it means a lot to me making sure these kids stay on the right path.”
The program is affiliated with the Boy Scout’s “Learning for Life” program. Zins emphasized that it isn’t just for those who want to be police officers, nor is it for troubled kids, nor just for high achieving kids. It’s for kids who are curious about law enforcement and who are maybe interested in learning a little bit of discipline.
“It’s not to take a problem child and try to correct him or her,” Zins said. “That’s not our job. And it’s not a program for only stellar kids by any means.”
Few local departments offer Police Explorer opportunities. MBPD is the only Beach City department that does, and Zins hopes to expand the program.
“We want more kids,” he said. “They might go out and do other things in life, but it helps give them direction during that awkward time of being a teenager.”
Explorers must be between 14 and 20 and complete a background check. After attending academy, they volunteer at MBPD, working within in the Community Affairs office, Traffic Bureau, Detective Bureau, and patrol operations. They also volunteer at events such as The Hometown Fair, 10K Run, Coffee with a Cop, Santa Float, Pier Fireworks, DUI Checkpoints, Tip A Cop, and the 9/11 Memorial service. Anyone interested can fill out an application on the City’s website (www.citymb.info) or they can call Sergeant Tim Zins at (310)802-5186.