As a way of engaging the community’s youth, the Federal Way Police Department held their first Youth Safety Academy last month, the department announced in a statement.

The Youth Safety Academy was the brainchild of Lindsey Sperry, crime analyst with the Federal Way Police Department. It aimed to partner police with students from a neighborhood selected by the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area program in a weeklong class centered on safety and police/youth relationships.

Sperry structured the youth academy much like the successful Federal Way Police Citizen’s Academy.

“This is a great example of community collaboration, a shared vision of working together to bring a meaningful program to our youth,” said Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang. “We are appreciative of all who contributed to making this Youth Academy a complete success.”

The Youth Safety Academy ran each day from June 27 to June 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All classes were taught by Federal Way police officers and South King Fire and Rescue firefighters, the latter of which spoke to participants about careers in the fire service and let youths experience jobs like using a fire hose, climbing a 100 foot-tall ladder and using hydraulic tools to cut up a car.

At the end of the final day of class, students were presented with certificates of completion and a Positive Ticket worth a day at Wild Waves Theme Park. Several students have committed to participating in the planning and execution of the 2017 academy, and several students committed to developing and planning a National Night Out event for Aug. 2 here in Federal Way.

The Youth Safety Academy was part of the ongoing development of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area plan, which focuses on a north Federal Way neighborhood. Officials with the city of Federal Way talked with students who reside in the selected area to find out what concerns, needs and wants they had for their neighborhood.

Federal Way police plan to make the academy an annual summer event, applying for grant money to fund it through the Justice Assistance Grant program. The department said it will continue to reach out to community partners for assistance and noted that all of the 2016 community partners – including Federal Way Public Schools, Wal-Mart, Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse and Xfinity – have committed to next year’s academy, which is predicted to double the class size from this year.