About Us

Explorer Post 1952 is for self motivated, mature and enthusiastic young individuals (ages 14-20). The program provides the opportunity to not only learn about law enforcement, but also teaches members to serve their community, and that by doing so, they gain important life skills such as leadership.

Explorers participate in many community related events – these events include National Night Out, traffic direction, crime prevention details just to name a few. New Explorers also have the opportunity to participate in the HCPD Youth Police Academy during the summer while senior Explorers can participate as Youth Instructors.

Explorers receive extensive training in various techniques   used by law enforcement professionals. This training includes traffic stops, building searches, bomb threat response, hostage negotiation, accident reconstruction, and arrest & search techniques. Explorers become familiar with police radio procedures, patrol areas, vehicles, equipment, and methods of patrol. This hands-on training is conducted in Howard County’s, state of the art, Public Safety Training Center. Through the department’s ride along program, Explorers get to ride with a Patrol Officer and experience life through the eyes of an Officer. Explorers are given an overview of the Howard County Police Department as a whole, and its daily operations.

Every other year, selected members of Explorer Post 1952 travel to regional and national events to compete against other Explorer Posts by utilizing the training that they have received throughout the year.  Their knowledge of police procedures and their responses to various scenarios are assessed by Judges who themselves are police officers.

Post 1952 conducts its weekly, two hour membership meetings on Wednesday evenings. Once members successfully pass their three month probationary period, they will receive their uniform t-shirts for a small fee that will be refunded when returned. All members earn Community Service hours for each special event that they attend.

Explorer Post 1952 models the Howard County Police Department and is a paramilitary organization. So join Howard County’s finest youth and ask yourself, “HOW FAR WILL YOU GO?”