Law Enforcement Exploring is a career-based program for young adult men and women looking to pursue a career in the law enforcement field.  To be eligible for this program you must have completed the eighth grade and be between the ages of 14 and 21.

Law Enforcement Explorer Post 254, of the Charles Town Police Department, helps its members gain an insight into the law enforcement profession, while providing them with a hands-on experience and training programs.  Likewise, Law Enforcement Explorer Post 254 provides young adults who are interested in law enforcement with a foundation of the skills needed to succeed in the law enforcement profession.  It also provides its youth members with career opportunities, life skills, service learning, character education and leadership experience.

History of Law Enforcement Explorer Post 254

Law Enforcement Explorer Post 254 was established in 1995.  Lt. Robert J. James, of the Charles Town Police Department, in cooperation with the City of Charles Town and now retired police Captain Louis Brunswick, organized the post in hopes of attracting young adults who were interested in a career in law enforcement.  The purpose of the post, however, was not only to attract these young men and women but also to act as an auxiliary unit to the police department.  The members of Post 254 have been, and still are used during parades for traffic and crowd control.  Also, members of the explorer post may be called out in cases of severe emergencies and used in many different roles.

The members of Post 254 have received vast amounts of training in various areas of law enforcement including, but not limited to, search and rescue, traffic stops, crowd/traffic control, patrol procedures, accident investigation, building entry, crime scene investigation, drug identification and arrest procedures.  During a search and rescue class, the post was activated to assist the Charles Town Police and other local police agencies on a search and rescue for an elderly woman who had wondered away from a local nursing home.  With the help of the post members, police agencies, Maryland State police helicopter Trooper 3 and local fire departments, the elderly woman was found without harm and returned to the nursing home.  Likewise, the post assists in many annual events such as the Jefferson County Fair, Fun Day Expos, patrolling town on Halloween, miscellaneous parades and gatherings and any other event that requires additional participation.