Photo: RCMP

Grade 9 students stand and watch as Cst. Greg Barnard, a member of the RCMP Southeast District Tactical Team, demonstrates the deployment of a smoke grenade

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A group of junior high school students got the chance to see what a day in the life of an RCMP officer looks like.

The students took part in National Take Our Kids to Work Day, where junior high school students spent the day in the boots of a police officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Students got a first-hand look at many of the diverse career opportunities within the force, from front-line emergency response to forensics specialists.

"Today's activities brought police work to life and gave the students a sense of what's possible within the RCMP," said Cst. Lesley Smith, School Resource Officer. "Students were involved in a number of active police scenarios which required the use of the support services like Police Dog Services (PDS), the Forensic Identification Section (FIS) and many more RCMP resources."

The day featured scenarios, demonstrations and presentations from a variety of departments, including traffic services, general duty investigations, Police Dog Services, the Southeast District Tactical Team, the Southeast District Emergency Response Team (ERT) and emergency telecoms operators.
 
The day was very authentic with students being “sworn-in”, before being given the opportunity to investigate, identify and arrest a culprit.

Take Our Kids to Work Day happens annually on the first Wednesday of November. Students from a variety of schools who have a connection or family member with the Kelowna Detachment and or the Southeast District Head Quarters signed up to participate.