About Us
The Livingston Police Department Explorer Post 518 is part of LEO Lions Club International, a non-profit youth organization. The program is available to qualified young men and women ages 13 to 20 years old interested in a pathway to law enforcement, public service, or criminal justice related profession.
The program offer teens and young adults a personal awareness of the criminal justice system through mentoring, hands-on training, practical applied experiences, Explorer competitions, and other law enforcement related details. The program promotes personal growth through character development, discipline, respect for rule of law, physical-mental-emotional fitness, good citizenship, and patriotism.
Explorer Post 518 was established in March of 2012 by Chief Ruben Chavez and supervised by Officer Zeus Baldevia. The goal of the program is to mentor the participating youth and to provide service to the community. Through their participation the Explorers gain discipline, respect, work ethics, leadership, teamwork, confidence, social skills, and sense of pride and purpose.
Post 518 is a busy and dynamic-working paramilitary youth program. We have logged over 30,000 hours of community service hours. We conduct fundraisers and work-training details at various events and locations (IE: Laguna Seca Raceway, Joseph Gallo Plants, Pebble Beach Concours D' Elegance, US Golf Open and AT&T ProAm Golf Tournaments, Atwater Castle Air Force Base, Stanislaus County Sheriffs Public Safety Center, Merced County Fair, and more) which in turn donates to support and fund the program. We routinely participate and assist in local and neighboring community events, cultural festivals, and parades.
Explorer participation is not just all hard work, when we work hard we also play hard. We provide incentive trips to varying recreational venues such as Extreme Paintball Park, Great America Theme Park, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Universal Studios, Knottsberry Farm, Hobbs Grove, San Francisco Exploratorium, Yosemite State Park, Magic Mountain Six Flags, Disneyland, rafting trips, and various camping trips at all-expense-paid for the qualifying Explorer.
Requirements for Admission
To be part of the Livingston Police Department Explorer Post 518 applicants must meet and/ or maintain the following requirements below:
1. Must be 13 to 20 years old (parent permission is mandated if applicant is under 18 years of age).
2. Must not have any criminal history (background checks will be conducted on applicants).
3. Must be self-motivated and dedicated to attend meetings and details.
4. Must maintain a minimum academic GPA of 2.5 while applicant is attending MS or HS.
5. Must be receptive and adhere to paramilitary style training.
6. Must want to succeed in life skills regardless the challenges presented
(NOTE: Parents are required to sign waiver forms along with the application and must meet with Officer Baldevia when the application is submitted)
For inquiries contact Livingston Police Department Officer Zeus Baldevia at zbaldevia@livingstonpd.org