(Photo credit: Kent Simmonds).

By Stephanie Swensrude

RCMP YOUTH ACADEMY

RCMP Youth Academy gives Kamloops high schoolers insight into career in policing

Mar 21, 2022 | 4:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — Seventeen high school students are spending their spring break stepping into the shoes of an RCMP officer.

“It’s all like, boom-boom-boom, you’ve got your fitness, your shower, and then you’re learning and learning and learning, and then you go do another physical activity. Then if you’re not back by the time you’re supposed to be back, then you’re doing pushups,” said Morgan Androlick, a student in the RCMP Youth Academy.

Students will spend the week sleeping in makeshift barracks, eating meals and marching together.

“This way they get to experience something that’s like a mini-depot experience, with the cots, working together as a troupe, being exposed to all those different units,” said Cst. Crystal Evelyn of Kamloops RCMP.

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The students are being visited by members from various police departments like the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) who specialize in gang violence and are based out of the Lower Mainland.

“It gives us the ability to come to the Okanagan and educate the youth about the efforts the CFSEU are doing to combat gangs and gang violence in the province,” said Sgt. Brenda Winpenny with the CFSEU.

Students will learn about different law enforcement career opportunities — everything from dog handling to media relations to the Emergency Response Team (ERT).

“I find the ERT team exciting because they’re kinda the guys who help the people who are already helping, and they just basically look out for everyone. [They have] a wider reach than what the standard police officer does,” said Cadet Christopher Bux, a RCMP Youth Academy participant.

Getting a look into the day-to-day life of an officer inspires some students to pursue policing once they graduate.

“A lot of these students that have come through the academy have gone on to the TRU justice program and from there they have become applicants with the RCMP and into other law enforcement agencies as well,” said Cpl. Dana Napier, who works in Crime Prevention with Kamloops RCMP.

“From what we were told in our presentations, it seems very difficult. You’ll face a lot of adversity and I always like to push myself and challenge myself to reach that next level,” said Bux.