Micah Starks enjoys the attention when people walk up to him at the ShoWare Center or Kent Station and want to know about his uniform and job.

“I explain my goals to them,” Starks said.

Starks, Austin Curtis and Hien Nguyen are the three members of the new Kent Police Cadet program. Their goals are to become police officers, preferably in Kent.

They are full-time college students who work part-time for the police.

“I’ve had several career changes and this seems the most stable and most appealing,” said Nguyen, 24, of Kent, a senior at the Central Washington University branch campus in Des Moines. “I want to start out as an officer and then down the line work with a gang unit or as a detective.”

Kent started the program last fall in an effort to recruit rookie officers.

“It’s designed as an opportunity for us to look at them and they can look at law enforcement as a career,” said Kent Police Lt. Lisa Price, who oversees hiring and recruiting. “Our intent is to use this as a recruiting tool for future officers.”

The cadets are paid $14 per hour and work about 19 hours per week during the school year. Their primary duties are bike patrols at Kent Station, downtown, the ShoWare Center and city parks.

“They observe and communicate,” Price said of the job duties. “They have a radio and a cell phone. If there is any confrontation, they have self-defense skills. But there is to be no aggressive behavior.”

Each cadet also carries handcuffs and pepper spray. None has had to use either item.

“We spot homeless camps, or drinking (alcohol) in parks or graffiti,” said Curtis, 19, of Renton, a sophomore at Highline Community College in Des Moines. “At a park, we’ll call officers or ask the people to leave. It depends on the situation.”

For example, if a park has closed at dark, the cadets would walk up to a family and request they go. But if the people in the park appear to be gang members, cadets call for an officer to respond.

The program appears to be a hit.

“It’s a fun job, the best job I’ve ever had,” Curtis said. “I’ve always been interested in it.”

Starks, a 2005 graduate of Kent-Meridian High School, is a sophomore at Seattle Central Community College. His major is communications, but he plans to work in law enforcement.

Curtis has worked three years as an Explorer with the Tukwila Police. Kent has an Explorer unit as well, but that program is aimed at high-school students who are simply interested in learning more about police work.

“They train to become officers at a much more serious level,” Price said of the cadets.

The cadets patrol areas by car as well as bicycles. But the city vehicle they drive does not have police lights or a siren. They use it to look for vehicle prowls or when they visit apartment complexes to hand out crime-prevention pamphlets.

During one trip to an apartment complex last November, the cadets spotted an apartment fire. They reported the blaze and helped alert residents in the building.

Residents have given a warm reception to the cadets.

“I like the positive looks we get from the community,” Starks said.

Kent Police set up the cadet program to involve students for up to two years. Once a student earns a two-year or a four-year degree, they can apply to become a full police officer.

The cadet program allows an individual to apply directly to Kent and avoid the lengthy list of those who pass the written and physical tests administered by Public Safety Testing, Inc., of Lynnwood, for police agencies across the state. The cadet still must pass the tests, but his or her name stands alone on a separate list.

“The intent is if there’s a job opening, he’s one of the first in line,” Price said.

Nguyen graduates in June. But right now Kent has a hiring freeze, so it remains uncertain whether a spot might be open for him. Starks and Curtis plan to enroll in the Central Washington University Law and Justice program at the Des Moines campus and continue as cadets. Kent also expects to hire a new cadet within the next month as the program starts to evolve.

“Overall, it’s had a positive impact on the cadets, the department and the community,” Price said.