After a long week of lectures and activities, this week’s participants of the Picayune Police Department Summer Camp got to cool off at Jack Read Park yesterday.

Each year, it’s amazing to witness the bond each group of kids form with the men and women of the Picayune Police Department.

Every summer the available slots for campers fill within hours.

That’s just a small testament to the camp and the hard work put in by all of the staff and volunteers.

Each week, the camp hosts a different age group of children from the community. They all come from different backgrounds, but nonetheless they all have a great time.

This week, participants played games, went bowling, made superhero paintings, went to the arcade and movies and ate more food than they could handle.

But the camp isn’t all about fun and games, they also learned about manners, respect, electricity safety, dental health and even beekeeping.

Chief Bryan Dawsey also made an appearance at the beginning of the week, giving the children a chance to meet one of our great community leaders.

By allowing young students to meet and spend time with our city’s police officer, they learn how important law enforcement is and that they are a friend, not someone to be feared.

Sometimes the only time a child interacts with a police officer, or firefighter, is during a time of crisis.

A traumatic event can make it hard for that stigma to be broken.

After another successful year of Picayune Police Department’s summer camp we hope that children in our community continue to grow up with a good relationship with law enforcement, in an effort to combat the seemingly endless cycle of crime.