Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993                   TAG: 9307110110
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LINDA McNATT LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

IT'S A TOUGH JOB, TEENS FIND OUT

But when the door burst open, three armed men in stocking masks charged through and bellowed for her and the other students to hit the floor.

"Every time we'd try to talk, they'd fire a shot," the 17-year-old Portsmouth resident said, her eyes round with excitement. "It was a wild experience."

It didn't take DaShawn or the 51 other teen-agers long to figure out that the "bad guys" who had taken them hostage were members of a state police SWAT team. The event was staged in a classroom on the campus of the Virginia State Police Academy.

The recent incident was show-and-tell time for the 1993 class of Junior Law Cadets at the summer camp designed for youths interested in a law-enforcement career. The weeklong camp, in its fourth year, is sponsored by the state police and the American Legion. Rising high school seniors with driver's licenses are eligible.

Cadets rose at 5:30 a.m., marched wherever they went, stood at ease while waiting in line for meals, tucked hospital corners into their beds and were in bed each night by 10.

"At first, I hated it," said Lisa Shore, 17, of Loudoun County. "Then, you get into the habit, and you want the discipline. You know it's going to be there to help you. It gives you a place."

"When these kids get home, their parents won't believe the difference in them," said Nancy Snow, a Danville police detective, camp counselor and member of the American Legion Auxiliary.

The cadets go through much the same training that candidates for the state police go through at the academy for six weeks, said Sgt. Ron Watkins, an academy instructor. They run a mile each morning, run the obstacle course, learn to drive the police cruisers and learn about the aviation and Medivac branches of the state police.

They meet FBI and Secret Service agents and hear about career possibilities with those agencies. They learn to handle firearms safely; they learn the laws about driving under the influence of alcohol and how to assure a conviction. The cadets tour the state crime lab and get a chance to try scuba diving.

"We test them physically, mentally and emotionally," Watkins said. "They learn a lot about themselves. The biggest surprise for most of them is that they really get to enjoy and appreciate the discipline. They have been doing more this week before breakfast than most people do all day."

The youths also are surprised at the diversity of troopers' jobs, Watkins said. Most of them come to the academy with the idea that the troopers do little more than investigate crimes and patrol traffic.

That's what Leslie Puckett thought. As the week ended, the 17-year-old from Smithfield was even more convinced that police work was for her.

"I love it," she said. "I have loved every minute of it. I know now that I've got to go to college for at least two years, and I know a lot more about what they really do. I kind of thought all they did was ride around in cars and hand tickets out all day.

"There are a lot of life-and-death situations. And I realize, when they go to work in the morning, they might not come home that night. It's something to think about."

For the past two years, the state police have been tracking the cadet classes to see if former cadets are following through with their plans to enter law enforcement. Watkins said police know that at least two cadets are in college studying criminal justice or psychology with plans to return.