DeKalb High School students may not be wearing badges, but they will be one step closer after an eight-week program that started Monday.

For the second year, a group of high school juniors and seniors will be able to learn about police work as part of the Teen Police Academy held at DeKalb High School, 1515 S. Fourth St. and run by the DeKalb Police Department.

“Everything we teach [the students] shows them what is available in law enforcement,” said DeKalb Police Det. Angel Reyes. “We let them know this is what we have.”

The course will cover general law enforcement procedures, such as evidence handling and accident investigations, and topics more prominent to teens including dating violence and cyber bullying, Reyes said.

The program runs for eight weeks and is held every Monday for two hours at DeKalb High School. The program has no cost to students and is run through donations from Target. Students who sign up are cleared through an in-house check for suspensions or school behavior problems before they are accepted, Reyes said.

The first class, held in 2007, had about 20 students and about 16 students signed up for the current year as of Monday afternoon, Reyes said.

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