A dozen children are learning what it takes to be a police officer as they participate in a week-long day camp with the Longueuil police department.
On Wednesday, the kids took part in a search-and-rescue simulation at Parc Michel-Chartrand in Longueuil, on Montreal’s South Shore.
“Since I’ve been a police officer in Longueuil… I’ve met young people who had a bad opinion of the police,” said Audrey Desaulniers, who created the program in an attempt to change people’s perception of the police.
She has been with the force for four years.
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Longueuil police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Voutsinos told Global News the kids are “little ambassadors.”
“They’ll meet with the emergency response team and learn how to deal with a disappearance,” he said.
He added that the apprentice officers will learn how the force functions and the basic tricks of the trade.
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As one of the campers, Ana Rubeco said the program has changed how she sees police officers in her community.
“I always thought that when police officers put the uniform on — I thought they like didn’t have any friends or family and were just robots — but now I see that they are people too,” she said.
Various other workshops will be held over the course of the week, introducing participants to the fire department, specialized patrol units and judicial agencies.
They will also visit the Longueuil courthouse and the Quebec National Police School in Nicolet.