LYNN — School is in session at the Lynn Police Department this summer as officers teach a group of students about careers in law enforcement.

According to School Security and Emergency Planning Liaison John Mackin, Lynn’s Student Police Academy is a youth program run by school resource officers that gives local teens a structured look at law enforcement careers.

The academy offers a six‑week session for high school students and two three‑week sessions for junior high students, with lessons from specialized police units and state police partners to show the range of jobs in criminal justice while building everyday rapport between officers and the students they see in school, he said.

“We usually get kids that have an interest in going forward — they’re either going to be going to college for criminal justice or some offshoot — and just to show them things that they may not think of that are also under that umbrella of criminal justice,” Mackin said.

Applicants to the program must live in Lynn and fill out an application, answer an essay question, and clear a quick check with their school, a process Mackin said is meant to “give everybody a chance” while making sure students are a good fit for the program.

Jeremiah Cruz Nieves, a student at Lynn Classical, described his time in the police academy as “amazing,” highlighting the athletic training, running, and getting in shape as major benefits, along with a visit to the police station where participants used VR technology and a Taser simulation.

Cruz Nieves said someone applied to the program for him, and that before being in the academy, he didn’t like law enforcement.

But, “as I continued, like the first day, I was like, ‘all right, I’m going to keep doing this,’” he said.

Now, after getting a glimpse behind the scenes of the Lynn Police, Cruz Nieves said his perception of police has “changed a lot.”

“They explain a lot of things that I didn’t know. So like, it opens the eyes to if a cop comes to me, say they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, I could be like, ‘no,’” he said.

Zuraily Gonzalez, a student at Lynn Classical, is already thinking about a future in law. After sitting in on a real court case, talking with a lawyer, and learning how officers respond to everything from criminal calls to mental health crises, she said the program has opened her eyes to both policing and a possible legal career. It has also taught her about police procedure, providing her with the skills to understand the actions of law enforcement.

“When you really understand it and understand the background to it, you’d be like, ‘OK, yeah, that makes more sense’ — why he’s getting arrested and why that happened,” she said. “I think it’s very good for kids who are in the program and learning new things about it. It keeps you active and motivated, and it’s really good for you.”

She added the officers who run the program are “really nice, and they treat us with respect. They always make sure that we’re safe and that we’re not getting harmed during all the activities.”