Columbus Police and Fire Youth Academy

2025 Camp Dates:

Bitty Boot Camp (6 – 8 years old) is June 2nd and 3rd, 2025

Youth Academy (9 – 12 years old) is June 4th through 6th, 2025

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 six to twelve the opportunity to spend two to three 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 25 students in each class. 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 2025 Bitty Boot Camp (6-8 years old) and Youth Camp (9-12 years old) there will be a lottery system for enrollment. 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 wish we could enroll every child, but limiting the number of campers ensures we can maintain a high level of learning and FUN! The camps and registration lottery remain free.

Requirements:

• The child must be a Bartholomew County resident
• The child must be the age within the age range for their camp at the time of the camp
• 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
ekapczynski@columbus.in.gov
812-350-4552

Registration will be open from May 5th, 2025 at noon to May 9th, 2025 at noon.