Last Friday, 35 kids between 7-14 years old celebrated their last day of Junior Police Academy Camp in Ste. Anne.

The Sports and Recreation Director of Ste. Anne, Sarah Normandeau, was responsible for organizing the camp but mentions she could not have done it without her brilliant partnership with the Ste. Anne Police Department.

Normandeau says the police put on a week of non-stop, hands-on learning where her campers were able to learn crime scene investigation, self-defense, and fingerprinting. The kids were even able to take a tour of the station and see what interview rooms and holding cells are like.

Says Normandeau, “its all about building community relationships around town, the police came up with an amazing week for these kids that they’ll never forget”. She states one of her ultimate goals with this camp was breaking down the fear many kids have about police officers.

Ste. Anne’s Police Chief Marc Robichaud echoes Normandeau’s vision: “I think at the end of the day it's all about relationship building, it's nice to have contact with kids in an environment that can maybe give them a different perspective about police”.

For the final day of camp, Robichaud and other police staff and auxiliaries put on a barbecue lunch and gave a tour of all first response vehicles. The kids had a blast honking fire sirens, talking to paramedics and pretending to drive police cars.

“Many kids who are here legitimately want to be cops”, Normandeau exclaims, “[the police] stepping up and doing this has been unbelievable for us”. She says the event was a huge success and hopes to duplicate the experience next year.