The Simpsonville Police Department Summer Youth Camp runs from July 11th to July 22nd with the campers 13 to 16 years old in a coed camp. The camp is a partnership between the Simpsonville Police department, the US Army and the Simpsonville Fire Department.
During the camp, the campers will be able to experience first-hand what it is like to be a police officer. They will go through training in arrest, booking and court room procedures with a strong focus on team building among the campers. We hope at the end of the camp that the campers will have a better understanding of what it’s like to be a police officer and how and why we have to do certain things. We want to give them a positive view of law enforcement and let them know we are just people too. We will also explain to them what to do and how to respond to a police officer if they are ever approached by one.
Just about every day will start with Sargent Rodriguez of the US Army putting the campers through about 20 minutes of PT. He will also teach them how to line up and to march in formation as a group. Strong bodies and working as a team is so important!
Active Shooter Training
Another important training topic will include active shooter training. Campers will be shown what and how police respond to an active shooter incident. We will show them how to line up in formation, move as a team, stack up as a team, how to enter into a room as a team with the intention of stopping an active shooter. They will also be given Civilian Alert training which will help them survive in the event of an actual active shooter incident.
The campers will tour the Greenville County Detention Center. They will be shown what happens to people once they are arrested and sent to jail.
Criminal Investigation and Crime Scene Processing
They will also experience criminal investigation and crime scene processing. They will be introduced to all the different areas of criminal investigation, from white collar to homicide and vice. They will also be taught how to locate, determine and collect evidence from a crime scene. We will set up mock crime scenes and have the campers work the scene and collect evidence.
Tour of SLED
The campers will travel to Columbia to attend a South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy Graduation followed by a tour of the South Carolina Police Hall of Fame and then a tour of SLED.
Weapons and Driving
Tactics
A visit to the Greenville County training range will allow the campers to see demonstration of our weapons and driving tactics. They will also get to see members of the Greenville County SWAT Team and K-9 Officers. They will also be given a presentation on how difficult it is for an officer to determine if deadly force is needed or not and the split second an officer has to make that determination. They will also experience a Simpsonville K-9 demonstration.
Fun Day
On Traffic Day, campers will be taught some basic traffic reconstruction along with DUI enforcement. They will be shown the correct process through a series of demonstrations and then allowed do mock routine traffic stops and then mock felony traffic stops.
Our Fun Day will take our campers to Discovery Island Waterpark and let them play in the water all day! It’s just a fun day to allow them to play and be kids and enjoy the new friends they have made.
CPR Certification Class
We will also have the Simpsonville Fire Department give a CPR Certification class so that at the end of the camp ALL the campers will be certified in CPR. We will also have numerous Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement representatives come in and discuss the different levels of law enforcement.
We will end our two week camp with an awards and graduation ceremony where parents and family will be invited to attend.
This camp is something the SRO (School Resource Officers) have wanted to do for years. It was something we discussed for years but never had the funding for it. Deputy Chief Steve Moore strongly supported the idea and former Police Chief Keith Grounsell was finally able to secure funding through City Council to do the camp.
The SROs are grateful for both of these individuals’ hard work and support, along with the Simpsonville City Council in helping make the summer camp a reality! ♦
