Police Academy Back For 16th Event

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Tuesday, 20 January 2015 06:00
Applications are still being accepted for the 16th annual Jean Minguy Memorial Youth Police Academy, starting in late April. The one week event at the Vernon Army Camp had 54 students last year from six school districts. Tom Williamson, district career coordinator with School District 22, says it's not just for students interested in a police career. "From an educational perspective this camp offers students something they will never get in their lives again. You have to be in high school to take it. You get a one week experience that will follow you for the rest of your life in terms of your own personal development," says Williamson. RCMP Constable Cathy Szoboticsanec says the academy gives 16 to 18 year old students a unique work experience in policing. "We have so many community supports. That's what makes this camp so special," she says. The deadline to apply is February 6 with more details on the Vernon School District's website. "What we offer is very intense. It's a mini (RCMP) depot like setting, and we have high expectations," says Szoboticsanec. The academy runs from April 26 to May 2, 2015, and takes a minimum of 40 students, and not just ones from the Vernon District. Constable Jean Minguy helped start the academy before his on the job death in an accident on Okanagan Lake in June 2005.