Police Camp returns to the region with a heartwarming graduation story

West Shore

2023-04-06 10:19 PDT

Police officers and reservists from all Greater Victoria Municipal Police agencies along with West Shore RCMP hosted the 2023 Greater Victoria Police Camp from March 18-25 at CFB Esquimalt WorkPoint. The program ran successfully for over 20 years ending in 2013, and is being brought back to become an annual event once again.

Police Camp is a leadership development program for high school students in grades 10-12 from the Greater Victoria region including 6 students from Royal Bay, Belmont and Edward Milne High Schools. The students were involved in daily physical training, classroom lectures, interactive sessions with presenters, and skills development through hands-on exercises. They learned about contemporary public safety topics, developed their natural leadership traits, and worked together in a team environment simulating experiences similar to those designed to build skills in Police training academies.

West Shore RCMP members Cst. Adam Foster and Cst. Michelle Guevremont were team leaders at Police Camp. There were 46 students who graduated in the 2023 Police Camp. Among the graduates was 18-year-old Owen Hilderley whose father Scott Hilderley, is a veteran of the RCMP and retired as Corporal with over 30 years of service. Scott also taught at police camp for years and would come home and tell his son Owen about the wonderful experiences the students were having.

Owen, who is a grade 12 student at Edward Milne Community School in Sooke, has been copping with Autism and Type 1 Diabetes and faces daily challenges but hearing his father’s policing stories, he always wanted to be a student at police camp.When Owen was picked as one of the 50 students he was elated and upon graduation he said", it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Going into Police Camp, Owen’s father Scott was concerned about how Police Camp may affect his son’s health, but he was grateful to Owen’s team leaders, West Shore RCMP’s Cst. Adam Foster and Victoria PD’s Cst Jenna Carver who took Owen under their wing and made sure he was comfortable and assisted in helping manage his Diabetes so he could complete the camp.

Photo of Scott and Owen Hilderley:

I am very grateful to Cst. Foster and Cst Carver, who knowing my son’s health challenges kept a close eye on him and became wonderful mentors. I taught at Police Camp for a number of years, so watching him graduate was a very special moment for my son and I. We were able to connect on shared experiences and it came full circle, said Scott Hilderley.

"Owen was one of the hardest working students at Police Camp. His drive and positive attitude left a big impact on the other students as well as the facilitators. Owen was also selected as one of the Valedictorians and we were so inspired to have been apart of his experience, said Cst. Foster, West Shore RCMP.  

Released by

Cpl. Nancy Saggar

Email: westshore_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: westshore.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (English only)

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