Have you ever wondered what it is like to be police officer or a firefighter? The Columbus Police and Fire Youth Academy gives students between the ages of eight to thirteen the opportunity to spend four days in an educational setting with our public safety personnel.
During this time, the students will participate in a number of “hands on” activities including obstacle courses, physical fitness exercises, defensive tactics, fire safety and fire prevention.
Fire trucks will be on hand for the students to inspect and learn more about. Students will have a chance to talk with members of the CPD SWAT Team, Hostage Negotiators, Swift Water Rescue, Bomb Team and much more. In addition, police dogs will also be on hand for a demonstration. The academy will conclude with a graduation ceremony that family and friends are encouraged to attend.
Lunch and academy t-shirts are provided to all students at no charge thanks to our generous sponsors and runs from 8:00am-3:00pm, daily. The academy is limited to twenty five students in each class, with a minimum of 12 students for the class to run. Preference will be given to Bartholomew County residents who have never attended the academy before.
Due to the overwhelming popularity and limited spaces for the 2024 Bitty Boot Camp (6-8 year olds) and Youth Camp (9-12 year olds) there will be a lottery system for enrollment of these camps. The purpose of having a lottery system is to ensure that families have an equal chance to get their child(ren) enrolled into these camps. We hate not being able to enroll every child, however limiting the number of campers ensures we can maintain a high level of learning and FUN! The camps and registration lottery remain free.
How the lottery system will work:
There will be an enrollment period announced on CPD’s Facebook page and accessible on the CPD website. Submissions will only be accepted through CPD’s website during that time. You will receive a notification that your submission was received but that does not guarantee the child will be enrolled in a camp. Only one submission per child is allowed.
If you have multiple children in one or both age groups then you must create a submission for each child in their appropriate camp. If you have children in the same age group (i.e. a 9 year old and a 12 year old, or 10 year old step-siblings, or twins…) then you should make separate submissions (one for each child) and select “YES” to that appropriate question regarding multiple children in the home. They will be grouped together in the lottery as one (but take X spots) so they may attend together. Do not include other relatives. Verification may be required to confirm these are siblings in the same home. Any late or inaccurate submissions will not be entered into the lottery.
Once the registration period ends, the list of names will be verified that they meet the qualifications mentioned below. Names of campers will be randomly chosen and any other names not selected will be stored in order to randomly produce any replacement campers in the event enrolled children can not attend. The replacement camper list will be active until the start of the camps and not held over for next summer.
Notifications will be sent by email if the child was chosen to attend the camp. It is very important that you correctly enter a working (and often checked) email address, a working phone number that accepts voicemails, correct shirt size, correct names and addresses at the time of submission. Any incorrect information may result in you not being notified. Any incorrect shirt sizes may result in poor fitment and replacements may not be available since they are ordered in advance of the camps.
If your child was chosen to attend, approximately 1 week before the camp begins:
You will receive an email (no later than May 24 at 5 pm) with further instructions on times (drop off 8:00am-8:30am and pickup 2:30pm-3:00pm), location (near Columbus Airport) and what to bring along with an itinerary for the camp. You must be able to provide transportation to and from the camp.
If your child was enrolled and they can no longer attend please notify us as soon as possible so a replacement camper can be chosen. We understand illnesses happen or last minute vacations, etc. get planned but a complete no-show without any communication takes up a spot for a camper who would have been able to attend.
The 2024 camps are now full.
Qualifications:
– The child must be a Bartholomew County resident
– The child must be the age at the time of camp within the age group they are registered for
– Submission is made by one parent or legal guardian
– Accurate information was provided during registration
– The child must have their own transportation to and from camp
– There must be a nearby emergency contact that can respond, if needed
– Notifications of food allergies or restrictions will be made to camp staff and/or medications will be provided to camp staff, if needed, at check-in
– Must accept CPD’s liability waiver
For questions, updates, or cancellations contact:
Officer Kapczynski
812-350-4552
Police
Dispatch
(812) 379-1689
Front Desk
(812) 376-2600
Records Division
123 Washington Street
Columbus, IN 47201
(812) 376-2653
Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
