Arlington Police's Hometown Recruiting Student First to Serve His Hometown

By Jesse Minton, Arlington Police

Posted on July 29, 2019, July 29, 2019

Arlington native, Trevor Meads has returned to his hometown to become an Arlington Police Department officer. Trevor, who attended the inaugural Hometown Recruiting (HTR) Program Class #1 in 2015, will also be the first HTR graduate to attend the APD Training Academy of Class #57.

Throughout Trevor’s education at Arlington ISD, he was involved in choir and sports, including wrestling. During his senior year, Trevor decided to stop wrestling and join the then new Hometown Recruiting Program, where he learned the history of policing and about the job of being a police officer. He credits his father, who was a deputy Sheriff for Tarrant County, with first sparking his interest in law enforcement.

After high school graduation, Trevor attended Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Oklahoma. While there, he joined the SNU Safety and Security Department where he operated surveillance cameras, answered the dispatch phone and relayed information to security. He also worked security for special events on campus.

Now that Trevor has graduated with his degree from SNU in Exercise Science, he’s coming back to serve his hometown.

The Hometown Recruiting Program is a result of the cooperative efforts between the Arlington Police Department, Arlington Independent School District and the University of Texas at Arlington. High school students considering a career in law enforcement can earn credit toward a criminal justice degree and participate in early police training. APD Officer Kemp coordinates and instructs the academy at AISD Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center along with several APD Officers that volunteer to assist with the program. The program gives high school students opportunities to learn, interact, and study day-to-day activities of a police officer. Upon successful completion of the program and after obtaining a bachelor’s degree students are guaranteed an interview with APD.

“Hometown Recruiting is one of the many ways we form relationships and hire our homegrown AISD students for a noble career with APD,” said Police Chief Will Johnson.

Click here to learn more about the Hometown Recruiting Program.