Fifty-five students from across the Okanagan said goodbye to their parents last Sunday and were put in the hands of the RCMP. No, they are not being punished for a crime.
They are learning how to do what police officers do through a week-long youth cadet camp. It is in memory of Constable Jean Minguy who passed away after being thrown overboard from a patrol vessel in to Okanagan Lake in 2005 and drowned.
Though many students haven’t ever met before, they have to get acquainted quickly because teamwork is a key component. During the camp, they learn both RCMP skills such as defense tactics, finger print collection and even the canine unit is brought in to help teach the students about working with trained police dogs.
Vernon RCMP say many students who come out of the camp end up submitting their RCMP application and that there’s been a steady increase in interest in the camp since it started in 1999.
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