Locust Police Department hosts Junior Detective Summer Camp

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, August 2, 2025

LOCUST — A dozen rising fourth- and fifth-grade students from Locust Elementary School participated in the second annual Junior Detective Summer Camp last week.

Hosted by the Locust Police Department and led by Locust Elementary School Resource Officer Daniel Longtin, the camp returned this year with “The Case of the Missing Money Mischief,” a mock bank robbery the junior detectives set out to solve.

Throughout the week, campers attended demonstrations on law enforcement and investigative topics, including fingerprinting, warrants, community engagement, crime scene response, K-9 operations and first aid.

Together, the campers used the information and notes they gathered to explore law enforcement as a career and solve their first junior detective case, following clues and money trails to identify and arrest a bank teller responsible for the inside job.

City of Locust staff helped out as team players in the camp by enacting out the roles required to set up the faux bank robbery case for the students to figure out.

In addition to investigative training with the LPD, campers toured local agencies and observed demonstrations from the West Stanly Fire Department and Stanly County Emergency Medical Services. They also took part in daily team-building games and activities organized by New Life Church.

At the end of the camp, the junior detectives were congratulated by Locust Police Chief Jeff Shew as they each received a certificate of completion, a gift bag and a department challenge coin as an honor presented by the chief for outstanding accomplishments.

The police chief encouraged the campers to be positive contributors to their schools and communities, adding the caveat that if any of them decided to pursue a career in law enforcement, they would have the opportunity to become the first Junior Detective Camp graduates to serve as officers with the LPD.

“The LPD thanks our friends at the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office, Stanly County EMS, West Stanly Fire Department, New Life Church, Emricci’s Pizza, Pinnacle Bank and Walmart for their partnership and support during the week,” the department said in a statement.

“We also thank City of Locust staff members for their participation in the case, Locust officers who assisted with the camp and campers in a variety of ways, and Detective Sgt. Tucker for her tremendous assistance in the organization and planning of the camp. Lastly, we thank SRO Longtin for all of his hard work, planning and dedication to Locust area children in putting on this camp. We are extremely proud of all the work you do.”