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REGINA, SASK
Two NWT youth experienced life as RCMP officers last week when they participated in a training program in Saskatchewan.

Brenna MacKay-Johnson, 18, from Fort Smith stretches to get ready for a judo exercise at the RCMP training base in Regina. - photo courtesy of Cpl. Tammy McKenzie

"Their day starts shortly after five, breakfast is at 6:45 and first class starts at eight," Cpl. Tammy McKenzie said. "Their day is done at about 11 p.m. We keep them busy here, but that's similar to what happens in real life."

Sixteen-year-old MacKenzie King of Yellowknife and Brenna MacKay-Johnson, 18, from Fort Smith, were both selected for the program based on their successes at school and their interest in becoming police officers.

Youth camp participants experience what daily life for is like for real RCMP cadets at the RCMP training centre, also known as Depot Division, McKenzie said. Students spent a week at the division from Aug. 13 to 17.

"It was trying to simulate as best as we could what transpires at the academy," McKenzie said. "It's a compressed version of what goes on here over the six month period."

King said the training is very intensive.

"You have to get up pretty early," he said. "Your day is very full and you're moving to and from places and it gets pretty busy. You're always moving."

King's father, uncle and grandfather all served as members of the RCMP, which prompted his interest in the program.

"I have always had an influence by them," he said. "It's a very good experience for me."

Training features discipline and exercise, but also includes virtual simulations for firearms and driving training, which King described as "high-tech video games."

"It's like one of those driving games at the arcade," he said. "You have to be very observant. It's very good practice."

MacKay-Johnson said she enjoyed firearms training.

"My favourite is the firearms simulator," she said. "It's fun and you learn how to shoot properly and how to aim, and they have different courses to go through. It's just exciting."

McKenzie said the simulators allow participants to practise new skills safely while trainers observe their performances.

"They're able to put scenarios in and see how the cadet reacts," she said.

During driving simulation, drivers wear headphones and receive instructions from a facilitator. They must juggle paying attention to the road and their rate of speed while observing what's going on around them all at the same time.

"It's being aware of your surroundings, being able to relay that information back to our telecommunications operators," she said. "They get a report at the end so they can see how they did, what they saw, what they didn't see. It's putting a little bit of extra stress on their driving ability at that time."

Facilitators also take participants through the officer application process, which involves aptitude and physical strength and endurance tests. It also involves taking a polygraph.

"It's identical to what we apply to regular applicants applying," McKenzie said. "They are actually treated as a troop and cadets."

Students even try to perform the Physical Ability Requirement Evaluation (PARE), which includes an obstacle course and a push-pull section that involves moving heavy objects. The evaluation must be completed in four minutes and 44 seconds or less.

"There's a strong physical component and the need to be physically ready," McKenzie said.

This is the second annual youth camp, which started as a pilot project in Alberta last year. Sixteen youth from Alberta participated. This year, the camp invited 32 students from the NWT and Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"They will take this experience back home and continue to be role models and share their experiences with other students," McKenzie said. "We're just spreading the word, trying to entice and interest other young adults to a career in the RCMP."

The idea worked for McKenzie, who participated in a similar program when she was a youth. She spent a week at Depot Division and then job shadowed RCMP officers when she returned home as part of an aboriginal summer student program. Now, McKenzie is a 15-year member of the force.

"That experience helped me decide that a path in law enforcement was for me," she said. "It's definitely worthwhile."

MacKay-Johnson plans to take the Criminal Justice program at Lethbridge College in the fall. She said though she hasn't decided her future just yet, she believes becoming a member of the RCMP is a way to become an example to others.

"A lot of people say an RCMP officer is a role model," she said. "Being a role model to other people is a good feeling, I think."

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