By Mark W. Olson

Chaska Police Explorer Post 421 is meant to introduce young people to law enforcement. However, sometimes it leads to a career.

“I decided one night to go to one of their meetings, and it took off from there,” said Jessica Claeys, a member of the Explorer Post from 2000 to 2001. That first meeting, which taught Explorers how to do routine traffic stops, ultimately led to Claeys’ current position.

Claeys is a member of the Eden Prairie Police Department, currently serving with the Minnesota Joint Analysis Center (MNJAC). MNJAC is a Minnesota agency which collects, analyzes and disseminates information to law enforcement agencies. “We support local and state law enforcement with ongoing criminal investigation,” Claeys explained.

Claeys was back in Chaska recently, assisting the Chaska Police Department through MNJAC during the PGA Championship, which brought thousands of golf fans to town.

Claeys’ decision to explore law enforcement was influenced by her father, who had served as a police officer in Belle Plaine. (Her parents, Julian and Nancy Claeys, live in Carver.)

As a junior at Chaska High School, Claeys decided to give the Explorer post a try. Claeys was full of “enthusiasm and energy,” recalled Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight. “I’m not at all surprised to see her in this capacity.”

“They have a real good program in place,” Claeys said, of the Chaska Explorers. “It was fun and exciting and lively, but it was organized.” Sgt. Ben Anderson was in charge of the program at the time.

Then, after graduating from CHS in 2001, she decided to study law enforcement at St. Cloud State University. As a junior, she served as an intern in the Carver County Sheriff’s Office, which she said helped introduce her to the jail and court system. After six years at St. Cloud, she graduated with an undergraduate and graduate degree in criminal justice.

Claeys joined the Eden Prairie Police Department in 2008 and was simultaneously assigned to MNJAC “I love it, I absolutely love it,” Claeys said, of her work. “I want to stay in the intel [intelligence] realm.

Mike Bosacker is director of the state agency, which employs about 12 full-time and part-time employees. Jason Hurley is the operations manager. “I’m an in-depth thinker, so [the position] kind of goes with my character. I like thinking outside of the box. It appeals to me that you can have all these different key factors,” Claeys said. “It’s basically a puzzle [and we’re] putting it together and bringing it to whoever needs that assistance.”Claeys said she also likes working in law enforcement support, “behind the curtains – not front and center – that’s where I operate the best.”