By Vivian Dyer.
Texas Public Safety Association students are traveling to Allen, Texas to compete in the TPSA State Conference from March 26-28.
TPSA helps prepare students who wish to pursue a career in the criminal justice field with competitions such as cell extraction, traffic stops, and building searches.
“It’s an extracurricular through criminal justice where they focus on law and little things you’d need to know if you want to go into the police force after high school,” Senior TPSA president Lexi Taylor said.
TPSA students competed at the area competition earlier this year. They have continued practicing every day after school to help prepare for the state-level competition.
“We do practices every week and we run through different scenarios like if the inmate is going to fight back or if the inmate is a male or female and if there is any type of contraband or weapons on the inmate,” junior state qualifier Emerson Brannon said.
A few changes have occurred during the TPSA competition season such as changes in the area that the students compete in.
“So competition this year is a lot different than it has been in previous years,” Taylor said. “We were placed in a bigger district, so instead of like 3 schools like usual it was 11 schools.”
According to Brannon, although competition is fun, there are still difficult parts of competing.
“The most difficult part of the competition has been trying to predict the different scenarios that were going to be put in because we don’t really know what it’s gonna be until you talk to the judge like three minutes before your competition starts,” Brannon said.
Brannon competed in cell extraction and advanced to compete at the state level.
“Cell extraction is when you have to remove an inmate from a cell whether they are being compliant or for their safety, and you have to send in a cell extraction team, place them in handcuffs and ankle shackles and carry them out of the cell,” Brannon said.
With such a successful association President Taylor holds the responsibility of making sure to assist TPSA sponsor Mr. Bruce in anything needed to run
“As president, I make sure that I coordinate things so any time that Mr. Bruce needs help with anything,” Taylor said. “I’m there just to make sure that my classmates have someone to talk to their age rather than going to Mr. Bruce as an adult.”
According to Taylor, the competition is the most intriguing part of TPSA and is the main reason that she joined the group.
“Criminal justice has always been my favorite class,” Taylor said. “When I found out that they had an extracurricular that you could do outside of school through TPSA and compete in competitions and stuff like that, I figured it was something that I’d enjoy.”
