Grade 9 students report for duty at Kelowna RCMP Detachment
As part of National Take Our Kids to Work Day, junior high school students spent the day in the boots of a police officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The initiative exposed students to the diverse career opportunities within the force, from front-line emergency response to forensics specialists.
“Today’s activities brought police work to life and gave the students a sense of what’s possible within the RCMP,” said Const. Lesley Smith, school resource officer. “Students were involved in a number of active police scenarios which required the use of the support services like Police Dog Services (PDS), the Forensic Identification Section (FIS) and many more RCMP resources.”
The full day’s schedule included scenarios, demonstrations and presentations from a variety of departments, including traffic services, general duty investigations, Police Dog Services, the Southeast District Tactical Team, the Southeast District Emergency Response Team (ERT) and emergency telecoms operators.
The youth were all “sworn-in” by the detachment commander, Supt. Brent Mundle, and each had the opportunity to investigate, identify and arrest a culprit. They also heard first-hand, front-line stories from seasoned police officers and had the chance to interact with the men and women of their local police force.
Take Our Kids to Work Day happens annually on the first Wednesday of November. Students from a variety of schools who have a connection or family member with the Kelowna Detachment and or the Southeast District Head Quarters signed up to participate.