Twenty Grade 11 and 12 students from various high schools in Abbotsford are spending their spring break all this week learning what it's like to be a police officer.
The 20 students are participating in the Abbotsford Police Department's Junior Police Academy (JPA).
They were selected from more than 40 applicants to participate in the program, which teaches basic law, police control tactics/self-defence, and even a day at the firearm range.
The week-long program ends with the students applying what they have learned during a scenario-based training day where they will be challenged as “police officers” to resolve problems.
All participants will also do a ride-along with a police officer during a real shift out on the road.
“This is a week we always really look forward to,” said Const. Robyn Lamarche, youth squad officer and JPA coordinator. “It provides students a glimpse of what it’s like to be a police officer by testing their abilities as if they were one.”