11 students go straight from high school to the Memphis Police Department

18-year-old Catrellus Yancey was a student at Craigmont High School several months ago when he heard an announcement about a new Memphis police recruiting program called Blue Path.

His guidance counselor encouraged him to apply. So did his grandmother, Jewel Yancey, a Memphis police officer who's now retired.

The teenager did apply, and on Friday, he became one of the first 11 students to finish the Police Service Technician training program via the newly created Blue Path high school recruiting process. Family members and friends honored him and the other graduates at the police academy in Frayser.

Despite Yancey's young age, he'll soon process traffic accidents, write tickets and assist with crowd control, and he'll study criminal justice at Southwest Tennessee Community College at the same time. And he said he definitely wants to become a Memphis police officer later on.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I loved to see police cars," he said. "I loved everything about it. I grew up here. My grandmother when I was young, she used to always take me on little trips to the police station. It was a great time." 

The short-staffed police department wants to make the Blue Path high school recruiting program the main way it recruits new police employees, said Fonda Fouche, talent management officer with the city of Memphis. 

The high school graduates' first step is to become Police Service Technicians. The PST program which was recently reinstated. The unarmed employees in tan uniforms free up officers from processing car wrecks. The program also aims to save money - the PSTs earn about $27,000 per year, significantly less than sworn police officers. 

The PSTs can process car accidents with minor injuries, but are required to hand off accidents involving death or critical injury to a more senior investigator. They don't work late nights and don't work the interstates. 

The PST program is seen as a fast track to becoming a police officer. They get their college tuition paid, and later on they can skip several weeks of police academy training.

Before entering the PST training program, the high school students in the Blue Path program had to take part in community service projects, informational meetings, physical and written tests as well as a background check.

This summer, the 11 students went through six weeks of Police Service Technician training to learn the basics, like operating radios. When they start work, they'll ride with more experienced PSTs, said Lt. Col. Anthony Rudolph who's in charge of training.

Using funds from the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, the city worked with human resources company HRO Partners to develop the Blue Path process and ran it for the first time during the 2016-2017 academic year, said HRO's president Austin Baker. 

Recruiters made pitches to students at public and private high schools in the area, he said. Some 200 or more students expressed interest, and 11 went all the way through the PST training program and graduated.

"It's special," Baker said. "I think a lot of people wouldn't have expected individuals to graduate out of high school and then graduate from a program like this just a few months later." 

He said the situation illustrates the potential among local high school students and that he hopes more companies will start working to develop their talent.

More information about the program is available at bluepathmemphis.com. 

Yancey was named the outstanding overall graduate of his class of nine men and two women. Others honored at the ceremony were:

Physical training - Jarvis Williams

Leadership - Antonio Anthony

Academics - Eric Castro 

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.