Students spend weekend at ‘Cop Camp’

May 3, 2024 | 1:00 PM Pete McIntyre

Two dozen Okanagan students will be spending the weekend at Cop Camp.

The annual event put on by the West Kelowna RCMP Indigenous Policing Services in partnership with Mount Boucherie Secondary School and Westbank First Nation, opened on Friday.

The camp is held at the school with 24 students from grades 10-12 participating.

“The goal of the camp is to help build a stronger community relationship between the RCMP and Indigenous communities,” a RCMP news release stated.

Students will take part in a graduation ceremony on Monday after they have participated in the camp which provides an “up-close” look at many policing aspects including:

Police Dog Services
Forensic Identification Unit (FIS)
Report writing
Tactical team
Water safety

Constables Rohel Williams (pictured) and Sherri Lund are leading the camp again this year.

“We are very passionate about this event,” Const. Williams said. “The students get an opportunity to learn hands on with several of our RCMP officers coming to the camp to share their expertise and experiences. We are very proud of the students that participate all weekend and we believe we are breaking down some of the barriers felt between the students and the RCMP.”