By Matthew Hersh
The Princeton Police Department’s Youth Academy will return this summer after a one-year pause, revived following last year’s declining participation and staffing constraints within the department’s community outreach efforts.
The free program, scheduled for July 13–17 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at police headquarters, is open to students entering sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Enrollment is capped at 20 participants.
Police Chief Matthew Solovay said the program’s return is a result of structural changes inside the department and renewed community interest.
“The Youth Academy helps build trust, understanding, and communication between young people and law enforcement,” said Solovay. “It is designed not only to be interesting and informational, but fun as well.”
Princeton Police have offered the program for more than 20 years, but it was not held last year.
“Interest in the Youth Academy had steadily declined over the past several years, ultimately reaching a level that made it difficult to justify running the program in 2025,” said Solovay. “In addition to enrollment challenges, planning and managing the academy is a significant undertaking that requires dedicated staffing. Over the last few years, staffing in our community outreach team was also challenging.”
Those factors led to a pause in a program that has long served as a core youth outreach effort for the department. Conditions have now changed enough to bring it back.
“This year, we expanded our Community Relations Bureau, which is responsible for coordinating and operating the Youth Academy,” Solovay said. “With additional staffing in place and renewed community interest, we felt it was the right time to relaunch the program.”
The department also moved to strengthen outreach efforts ahead of registration.
“The added staffing to our Community Relations Bureau was particularly helpful,” Solovay said. “Also, we made a concerted effort to promote the program earlier and through more channels.”
“While the core components of the Youth Academy remain the same, our team refreshed portions of the program to ensure it remains engaging, interactive, and relevant,” he said.
According to the Municipality, the Youth Academy introduces students to a range of policing topics, including social media awareness, bullying prevention, motor vehicle law, DWI enforcement, crime scene and evidentiary processing, emergency vehicle operation, and K-9 demonstrations. Each day begins with physical training and drill exercises.
Solovay said students often arrive with limited expectations of the profession.
“Many students are surprised by the wide variety of responsibilities police handle every day,” he said.
By the week’s end, he said, “We hope they leave with a better understanding of police work, an appreciation for public service, and the confidence to engage positively with law enforcement. We also want them to have fun.”
Beyond student instruction, Solovay said the program plays a role in shaping how officers understand the community they serve.
“Our officers gain valuable insight into the perspectives, concerns, and interests of today’s youth,” he said. “Those interactions help us better understand the community we serve.”
The academy is part of a broader community policing approach centered on relationship-building, Solovay said.
“Community policing is built on partnerships,” Solovay said. “The Youth Academy is one of the many ways we work towards building partnerships with the youth in our community. Those partnerships are essential.”
Students interested in this year’s Youth Police Academy must be Princeton public or private school students and fill out an application at princetonnj.gov/373/Youth-Police-Academy and forward a reference/sponsor letter to Sgt. Luis Navas at lnavas@princetonnj.gov.