OZARK, Mo. — On August 16, close to 100 kids are getting an inside look at what a police officer does on a day-to-day basis. 

The Ozark Police Department is hosting its third Hero-In-Training event, where kids will get to interact with the people who are sworn to protect them every day

This is also an opportunity for police officers to give back to the community. 

Officer Jessica Brown told KOLR 10 she joined the force in 2019 because she wanted to turn her life around after going through a rough patch growing up.

Now, she wants to use her position as a police officer to be a positive role model for kids. 

“And to show the kids, that we are not the bad guys. We are your friends, your neighbors in the community. We have several officers that live inside the city limits of Ozark. So we’re trying to show the kids and the community that we’re here for any situation that you might have,” said Brown. 

This year kids will learn about the criminal investigation unit, drone unit and meet the K9s. 

K9 Ollie and Dex will be on site so kids can meet them and see how they work with their handlers along with the drone unit. Kids will even get to participate in a CSI-like crime scene, processing activity and tap into their inner junior detective. 

There will be off-duty officers on hand to answer any questions kids might have about what the police department does.

In 2021, the Ozark Police Department held its second hero in training and the theme was BYOB, bring your own bike, which was centered around bike safety and the kids loved it.

 This will be Officer Brown’s first time helping in the event and she can’t wait for it to start.

“We have several kids that I know personally and kids that I interacted with in public doing the job. So I’m really looking forward to seeing all these kids smile. and have a good time,” said Brown. 

As for traffic, the OPD parking lot here will be closed for the event as well as Second Avenue beside the station.