Trainer Peter Lavelle leads Cambridge teens in a workout as part of a six-week Youth Police Academy.

Cambridge teens are learning what it’s like to be police officer, including self-defense training and becoming certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the Heartsaver program, as part of the city’s annual Youth Police Academy.

The academy is a six-week, 100-hour instructional program designed to give 14- to 18-year-olds experience with the duties of law enforcement, said Daniel Riviello, the Cambridge Police Department’s communications specialist, in a Monday press release.

Youth participate in classroom instruction and workshops demonstrating the procedures and techniques of police work, he said.

There are also weekly physical fitness activities led by Peter Lavelle, a trainer from Ultimate Boot Camp. “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary,” Lavelle tells participants, according to Riviello.

The same teens are involved in Mayor David P. Maher’s Summer Work Program. For information on the program, click here.