Incoming sixth-graders from Horizon and Heritage elementary schools and St. John the Baptist Catholic School get relief from the heat in a massive water spray from Madison firefighters during Kids Camp, sponsored by Madison Police Foundation and Madison Police Department. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Kids Camp, a unique type of summer experience for youth and police officers, has completed another successful year with 275 children participating.

Since 2001, Madison Police Foundation and Madison Police Department have sponsored Kids Camp, which is now held in three separate weekly installments during June. Boys and girls who live in Madison and will enter sixth grade in August in public or home school are eligible to attend.

The camp is held on the Discovery Middle School campus. Officers assign students from specific schools to attend each week. For example, for the week of June 15, sixth-graders attended from Heritage and Horizon elementary schools and St. John the Baptist Catholic School.

During Kids Camp, the youth gain a broader and better understanding about the role that police officers provide to Madison. Sixth-graders see officers as real people. Conversely, officers gain a child’s perspective about law enforcement.

“Kids Camp is the greatest community outreach program that our department offers,” Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey said in a 2014 interview. “Rising sixth-graders and Madison officers build relationships that will last a lifetime, and they have a lot of fun in process.”

School Resource Officers (SROs) who work on campuses of Madison City Schools are involved with planning, advertising and leading the three weeks of camp, Capt. John Stringer said. Stringer works in Madison Police Department’s Special Operations.

During camp, Madison’s Special Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) team demonstrated their procedures. Crime Scene Investigators set up a mock scene for students to process, Stringer said.

To learn about traffic crash investigations, campers measured and diagramed a mock crash scene and sketched crashed cars that a local wrecker service furnished. The children enjoyed swimming at Dublin Park’s pool.

On Mud Day, Madison firefighters bring a fire engine to spray massive plumes of water for the campers to romp around, slosh in and even make a slushy, mud pit. “The kids love that day,” Stringer said.