Last week, July 9 and July 10, the Central Oregon Women in Law Enforcement (COWIL) group, hosted their second annual Jr. Women’s Law Enforcement Academy. COWIL was founded in 2022 with the intent to mentor and support current and future women in law enforcement. One of the goals of COWIL was to host a camp for teens to recruit the future of law enforcement and to show all the different possibilities the law enforcement profession has to offer.
Last year, COWIL hosted their first camp which was a one-day camp supplied by all female instructors in a variety of roles of law enforcement and designed for teen girls 13-18 years of age. The camp was very successful and grew into a two-day camp this year. Central Christian Schools allowed COWIL to use their facilities for the camp this year.
This camp is a great showcase of all the different possibilities available in law enforcement and first responder careers. Additionally, this year the camp was designed to follow the cycle of law enforcement from hiring to the 9-1-1 call, to responding with all the different specialties, the booking process, the court process, and followed by parole and probation.
The instructors at the JR. Women’s Law Enforcement Academy are all held by women in all different roles of law enforcement to show that “If you can see her, you can be her”. The interactive sessions at this year’s camp included traffic stops, crime Lab processing, jail cell search and simulated booking process, mock trial, Tac-Med including CPR and tourniquets, Search and Rescue, handcuffing, ORPAT, Parole and Probation, Dispatch, DUII/SFST, K9, drone, and CERT to name a few.
The agencies who participated in the event included: Redmond Police Department, Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Prineville Police Department, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, Oregon State Police, Deschutes County 9-1-1, Central Oregon Chaplaincy, Redmond Fire and Rescue, Deschutes County Parole & Probation, Crook County Parole & Probation, Deschutes County Circuit Court and the Honorable Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Emerson. Funding for the event was provided by COLES (Central Oregon Law Enforcement Services).
Central Oregon Women In Law Enforcement (COWIL) would like to thank the help and support of all the agencies who participated in the event, Central Christian Schools, and all the girls who attended. If you would like more information on COWIL, or to donate to COWIL for future events, please contact Lt. April Huey at the Redmond Police Department at 541-504-3474, or email april.huey@redmondoregon.gov.
