Police week attracts about 70 boys and girls in blue BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer Students involved in Middletown's Police Youth Week pay close attention to instruction being given by two of Middletown's finest last week. MIDDLETOWN - Most young people only know what they see on television and in movies when it comes to the police. Township Sgt. Fred Deickmann took the past week to try to change the stereotypes during Middletown Police Youth Week. About 70 lucky 10 to 13-year-olds were able to see firsthand what it's like to be among Middletown's finest. Deickmann's goal was to show kids what it's like to be on the job. "We wanted to educate kids on what police work is all about and what goes on when it comes to the job that we do," said Deickmann, who was the coordinator for the week's events and has held his role since the inception of the program a few years ago. "We want to illustrate to kids that the police can be a positive presence in the community. Unfortunately, some kids only know of us when we come to the home to handle a domestic dispute or something negative." Deickmann and 20 other department members instructed the youths during the week and tried to make the curriculum relevant and current, especially when it came to Internet safety, a topic Deickmann said has only recently been a part of the program. "Times have changed since we started this program and something like Internet safety is huge right now," Deickmann said. "Something like that, we have to keep on it for the sake of these kids." In addition to the basic curriculum, the kids were taken to the police shooting range and had an opportunity to see a SWAT team demonstration, where the students were able to see some of the special equipment that is often used. Deickmann said that about 100 young people applied to be a part of the program but that some had to be turned away. "This thing has turned into a huge opportunity for kids in our area," Deickmann said. "The word has gotten around as to how successful this program has been, and we just want to watch it continue to grow. Hopefully these kids learned a lot, and maybe one day a few of them may actually want to choose this as a career."