During the week of July 27-29, 2026, the Camrose RCMP ran its first ever 3-day RCMP Youth Police Academy.

Students in grades 9-12 from across Camrose County gained exposure to multiple different policing units, specialized trades, and skill testing scenarios which gave them a valuable look into the world of policing. Upon completion, students earned three credits towards their high school diploma.

Participants were required to complete a full application package, which included their reason for wanting to participate. 17 students applied, and 15 applicants participated. All 15 of them passed the final practical exam, which required them to work as a team to answer questions based on all their presentations.

The Camrose RCMP were very happy to see a high interest from students who applied to participate. “We recognize there are plenty of activities they could choose to get involved with over the summer, and it’s good to see students doing something that may be out of their comfort zone; especially considering this was a first time we have run the academy,” says Constable Nathaniel Sande of the Camrose RCMP detachment.

The students were exposed to RCMP police dogs in action, participated in scenario training with simulated police intervention tools, and challenged themselves with a real Police Fitness Test. The participants got a realistic expectation of what the physical demands of being a police officer are like and showed impressive motivation throughout the test.

The students also got an inside look into numerous specialized careers in the RCMP, including undercover operations, drug investigations, and forensics.

Youth academies have become popular with the RCMP across Alberta, and Cst. Nathaniel Sande saw a fit to bring one to Camrose after studying what other detachments had done. “The main goal was to see how much of the RCMP experience we could squeeze into a few days, knowing it would be quite challenging,” says Cst. Sande. “We received very positive feedback from the students from our sessions and will likely run the academy again in the future.”