Explorers give young people taste of police career
Marlboro post marks 25 years of providing opportunities to youths
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

The current members of the Marlboro Police Department's Explorers post (above) are learning about careers in law enforcement just like their predecessors (photo at right) did in the first year of the program 25 years ago.

MARLBORO - The Marlboro Police Department has been providing young people with an inside view into law enforcement with its Explorers program for 25 years.

Explorers posts fall under the auspices of the Boy Scouts of America and are open to students between the ages of 14 and 21 who are interested in learning more about law enforcement.

One of the program's main objectives is getting today's youth involved in establishing goals toward building a better future for themselves and for their community.

The Marlboro Explorers can be seen assisting residents at municipal events such as concerts, the annual youth soccer tournament and Marlboro Day. The Explorers also have the opportunity to go on ride-alongs, in which they accompany a police officer on his tour of duty and assist with various calls.

The Marlboro Explorers post was started in 1982 by Lt. Nicholas Barbella, Lt. Douglas Van Note, retired Patrolman George Landau and the late Cpl. Robert Tossie Sr.

Barbella said he believes the Explorers program is a good stepping stone for young people who are looking to follow a career path in law enforcement.

"The most important lesson that I tried to instill in [the Explorers] was that they are our future ... [We] provided them with sound leadership and tried to teach them the real world and the perception people have of law enforcement," the lieutenant said.

Barbella said that as the adviser of the post, he learned that it is never a waste of time to teach the youth of America the right thing to do.

Recalling when the post's first members graduated in 1983, Barbella said he told the students that they did it for themselves. He said the young people told him they did it for their advisers.

"The more you give to the youth, the more they'll give back in return and that was a good feeling," he added.

Barbella, who was a patrolman in 1982, said he was honored when then Chief Joseph Walker chose him to be the post's founding adviser. Barbella, who had only been on the job for three years, said veteran officers were also on the list to be named the adviser.

Twenty-five years later, Barbella said, he feels like a proud father.

"I saw [the post] from the infancy stage to its maturity and I can see the positive results it has made throughout the years," Barbella said.

Approximately 250 young men and young women have been members of the Explorers post since its inception. The post has seen 32 of its graduates go on to work in law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the New York Police Department. There have been 11 former Explorers who have joined the ranks as Marlboro police officers.

Adam Hubeny, who made a career in law enforcement, was the first Explorer to be named chief of the Marlboro Explorers post in 1982; he was also the first graduate of the Police Explorers academy to be appointed to a full-time position as a police officer.

Hubeny, who started his career as a dispatcher with the Marlboro Police Department in 1980, has gone on to experience a 25-year career in several law enforcement agencies.

Hubeny became a full-time patrol officer in Colts Neck in 1984, a detective in Atlantic Highlands in 1987 and a detective sergeant for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in 1992. As a detective for the prosecutor's office, Hubeny was in charge of homeland security and supervised the Office of Emergency Manage-ment.

Hubeny is retired from law enforcement and working as the business administrator in Atlantic Highlands.

"The Explorers post was a very integral part of my 25-year career. It was an experience I would recommend to anyone who thinks they have an interest in law enforcement," Hubeny said. "It was an opportunity that really shed light on the job and the responsibilities of being a police officer. It was also an honor for me personally because 25 years later I can say that I was the first chief of the Explorers post" in Marlboro.

There are currently 25 members of the Marlboro Explorers post, and the advisers who oversee and guide those individuals are Lt. Douglas Van Note, Patrolmen Steve Levy and Andrew Goldberg, and Cpl. Billy Nagle.

Levy, who has been one of the advisers since 2001, believes the Explorers post is an excellent program because it allows students to see what it is really like to be a police officer.

Like many people, Levy said, young people have a perception of police officers based on what they see on television. He said as Explorers the students get to see that police officers spend most of their day assisting residents.

"That's what they end up walking away with, how many positive things we do," Levy said.

As part of the program, the Explorers gain experience by meeting officers, going on ride-alongs, attending national conferences and working as a team, he added.

Van Note said, "I'm very proud of our post and what they've accomplished and the fact that we have gotten great police officers out of the program. I think every town should have a post because it's positive for the police department as well as the community and the children in the community."

Much like a police department, the Explorers post follows a chain of command. The current officers include Chief Jeremy Drewry, Capt. Callen Figarola, lieutenants Melissa Boege and Adam Levine, and sergeants James McCormick, Mark Cosentino and Raymond Minarcik.

Drewry, whose goal is to work for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in the narcotics division, said in particular that the ride-along program teaches Explorers how different police officers do the same job in different ways.

When Drewry starts his full-time career in law enforcement, he said he will take with him the details he has learned about the job, including how to handcuff someone, how to search a person and how to have a commanding appearance so people do not take advantage of him.

Boege, whose goal is to be a forensic psychologist, said the post gives students a different perspective on law enforcement. She added that joining the post has opened up a lot of doors for her future.

One lesson Boege will take with her when she leaves the post is that the most important part about being a police officer is to go home at the end of the night by keeping yourself safe.

Every January the Explorers attend a Marlboro Township Council meeting in which the new line officers are sworn in by the mayor. At that time the advisers also get a chance to recognize certain Explorers for their outstanding achievements by issuing them awards.

Explorers can earn the community service award for volunteering a certain number of hours; the law enforcement award for going above and beyond what is asked of them; and the Cpl. Robert E. Tossie Explorer of the Year award which is given to one member who contributed an overall outstanding performance to the post.

Once a person joins the Marlboro Explorers post, he or she is required to attend the Monmouth County Law Enforcement Explorer Academy which is held at the Monmouth County Police Academy, Freehold Township. The curriculum includes accident investigation, traffic direction and crime scene investigation. There are also hands-on classes such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), water safety, the firing range and physical training.

The National Explorer Conference is held every other year at different locations throughout the country. In previous years the Explorers have had a chance to attend the conferences in Boston, Denver, Atlanta and Flagstaff, Ariz. During the conferences, the Explorers have an opportunity to meet people from other states, compete in several different competitions and attend workshops hosted by federal law enforcement agencies.