RCMP Youth Academy: No Spring Break

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Drill instructor, Constable Rob Lamont, puts the youth recruits through their paces

Prince George, B.C. -  The group of 32 grade 11 and 12 students from across northern B.C. are assembled in the 'drill hall', looking sharp in their black track pants and white t-shirts...

They're in two fairly-straight lines, relaxed and joking with one another - the atmosphere takes a turn for the serious at precisely 6pm when Drill instructor, Constable Rob Lamont, enters and bellows for attention. (click on photo for a video clip of the class)

The recruits for the RCMP's 9th Youth Academy in Prince George arrived at their dormitory on Saturday night - the majority of the 32 are from within School District 57, but others are from 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Smithers, Terrace and Prince Rupert.  They'll spend the next week being put through their paces, in a modified version of the RCMP's Depot training.  Yesterday began with a 6am run and, 12-hours later, they were standing at attention for their drill class.

Academy spokesperson, Constable Davy Greenlees, says the selected students go through a rigorous application process that begins with a desire to pursue policing as a career.  "They get a really good taste of what it's like to be a police officer from this - of what the job is about and what the training is about," he says.  "And they may say at the end of it, 'this really isn't for me' - well, now they know well in advance, they still have time in high school to change gears and think about something else."

Greenlees says during the program, the students are also exposed to other avenues that might be of interest.  They spend a day at the courthouse, talking with crown counsel, defence lawyers, and judges.  They learn about community policing and all it entails.  Tomorrow, the students will take the PARE test - the RCMP's physical aptitude test - at the Family Y, which is meant to simulate some of the challenges an officer might go through when jumping out of cruiser to deal with a call-for-service.  They'll run, jump hurdles, climb stairs and carry a weighted sack as part of the course. They'll do it three times.  Real RCMP applicants must complete the course six times in four minutes.

This 2011 Youth Academy troop is set to graduate on Saturday.  Constable Greenlees says, in past years, there have been a few students who've dropped out before completion.  However, he says quite a few have not only graduated from the Youth Academy, but have gone on to pursue a career in the RCMP.  (Exact figures are difficult to come by because of privacy issues.)  In addition, Greenlees says, "Even more (Academy graduates) have gone on from here to join the Armed Forces."

One thing is for certain, for these 32 students, this first week of spring is no break.

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