(320) Contra Costa

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Contra Costa Area Office (320) has a thriving and exciting CHP Explorer Post. The Explorer Program provides youths, ages 15-21, with an opportunity to learn multiple aspects of the life and duties of a CHP Officer. Explorers serve their community, attend weekly training, and participate in competitions, all while preparing for a career with the California Highway Patrol. With a team of nearly a half dozen fully sworn CHP Officers assisting in the 320 Explorer Post, CHP Explorers receive hands-on training from experts in the fields of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Investigation, Traffic Stops, Building Entry/Warrant Service, First Aid/Tactical Casualty Care, Physical Methods of Arrest, Physical Fitness, and much more. CHP Explorers regularly participate in ride-alongs with Officers on all shifts, in an effort to give them an idea of what the duties of a CHP Officer truly are. Explorers in our program are also given an opportunity to attend the Explorer Level III and Level IV Training, which takes place at the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento. Explorers who attend the CHP Academy are given a first-hand experience of what it is like to be a CHP Cadet.

The 320 Explorer Post was established in 2015 and has introduced young men and women to the California Highway Patrol and the field of law enforcement. Since its inception, the Explorer Post has completed and won multiple trophies in statewide competitions, volunteered in local community outreach programs, and volunteered at the CHP Contra Costa Area Office with various tasks. This year (2019) we had one previous Explorer, Grant Oliveri, who has attended and successfully completed the grueling 6 month CHP academy! He is currently on training at our Hayward Office and graduated with a badge number of 22232. We are extremely proud of Officer Grant Oliveri! Officer Oliveri is a prime example of how being a member of an Explorer Post can assist in preparation for a job in the field of Law Enforcement.
We are extremely excited and proud for one of our former Explorers and current Explorer Post Advisor, Kayla Cahoon. She has worked extremely hard, overcome obstacles, and has been officially invited to the CHP Academy to join cadet class CTC II-19 on July 8th 2019! Her dedication to the CHP and the Contra Costa Explorer Post has been essential to its success and we will miss having her around as an advisor. We look forward to her graduation and her return to the post in the future!
This year at the post, we plan to attend two statewide competitions, attend Level III and Level IV Training, and continue our weekly meetings with training including DUI Investigation, Non-Lethal Training Ammunition (Simunitions) scenarios, use of force scenarios, weapons training, and vehicle placement. If you are interested in a career with the CHP and feel like you embody what it means to have “CHP PRIDE” (Courage – Honesty – Professionalism – Principles – Respect – Integrity – Dedication - Esprit De Corps), then please contact Officer Chad Tardiff at ctardiff@chp.ca.gov or by phone at 925-646-4980. If you would like to speak to an Officer in person, feel free to come to the CHP Office at 5001 Blum Rd., Martinez, CA 94553 (M-F, 8am-5pm) and ask to speak with an Explorer Advisor.

1st & 2nd Quarter 2019:

During this period our post organized a 12-hour Explorer Post Training day at an abandoned Coast Guard housing complex in preparation for our upcoming competition at the CHP Academy. The training day included the use of non-lethal training ammunition / simunitions, a red-man suit for use of force training, fleeing suspects into a building search, active shooter(s), multiple vehicles for felony stops, and dozens of sworn Officers and volunteer role players. All 7 of our Explorers also took part in the Statewide Explorer Challenge. We also had an 8-hour training day at an Airsoft facility where all 7 explorers and multiple Sworn Officers, were challenged with multiple different scenarios. Our weekly training days continue to occur with training in CSI, Basic Vehicle Stop, Vehicle Search, Driving Under the Influence, Physical Methods of Arrest, Felony Stop, and are branching out into the realm of hostage negotiations and rescue. We continue to grow as a post and have 3 new explorer cadets who are going to be starting the application and background process.