Dad, Daughter Give Explorer Program Boost

When San Fernando Police Chief Dominick Rivetti asked Reserve Sgt. Jim Martinez to rescue the department’s faltering Explorer program just over two years ago, the post had only six members and no planned activities.

The first move by Martinez, a San Fernando native who oversees police recruit training, was to enlist the aid of another reserve officer: his daughter Kathy Martinez.

Together, the rare father-daughter team has been credited with building a program that is opening doors for young people in the area.

“Our program dates back to the 1960s, but it has never been as healthy or as organized as it is now,” Rivetti said.

The San Fernando Explorer post now has about 35 members, male and female, between 14 and 21. The program, which is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, provides the youths with hands-on experience that for many will be the starting point for such careers as police officer, sheriff’s deputy and crime lab technician.

“This isn’t about a bunch of young people showing up in uniforms to look good. This has been a great outlet for them to get involved in community service and to prepare them for what comes next,” Rivetti said.

The Explorer program was established in 1962 to provide older Scouts with programs that would lead them toward careers. Law enforcement programs are some of the most popular, but included among the thousands of Explorer posts operating nationwide are those specializing in firefighting, engineering, aviation and medicine.

“Whatever the kids have an interest in, we try to pair them up with mentors,” said Norval Powell, Exploring director for the Los Angeles Boy Scout Council. “Previous scouting experience is not a prerequisite, and about 40% of our Scouts are girls,” he said.

Under the Martinezes’ direction, squads of blue-uniformed Explorers have become a ubiquitous feature of the law enforcement landscape in San Fernando: watching over City Hall on election night, performing crowd control, riding along with officers on patrol and volunteering their time and talents for charitable causes.

Entry into the Explorers requires a letter of referral from the applicant’s school and evidence of passing grades. In San Fernando, each applicant undergoes a physical regimen modeled after police-academy training programs and must also pass a written exam testing his or her knowledge of the law and police procedures.

“They have to earn it. It’s a big commitment to get into the Explorer Scouts,” said Kathy, 32. “We’re pretty strict,” agrees her dad, 56, who has been known to send Explorers home to change their clothes because of excessively baggy pants or other fashion statements that tread too near to what he called the “gangsta” look.

Last year, members of the San Fernando post earned enough money to pay for a trip to a YMCA camp in Big Bear Lake. For five days, they took part in outdoor activities with youths from around the region.

“They were shy at first, but they did really well, and by the end they were writing down phone numbers of the friends they had made,” Kathy said.

“Most of our kids are from low-income families and many had never been on a boat or gone fishing or camping before this,” her father said. “These are kids who want to make something of their lives, and this program gives them a boost.”