45 local children discover the outdoors at Caddo Sheriff Camp

CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office partners with the Boy Scouts of America each year to host a four-day camp for young boys ages 9-12. This year, 45 children were welcomed. at the Kindsey Scout Reservation.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office tradition aims to foster a positive relationship between local youth and law enforcement while providing invaluable mentorship and life skills.

“It puts the deputies and the children in a different environment so they can interact. The children have been very busy since Sunday when they started. They fished, swam and shot BB guns. After visiting with them, they seem to have had a great time,” Caddo Parish Sheriff Jay Long said.

Along with traditional camp activities, campers met with several law enforcement agencies, learning what they do for the community and how to be their own leaders in their hometown.

“This is my first time going to the sheriff’s camp. And so this is just a little taste of what the Boy Scouts are all about. I feel like it definitely encouraged me to maybe want to get into the Boy Scouts,” said camp attendee River Howell.

Third-year camp attendee Bentley says the program helped him develop his personality while making new friends his own age and in law enforcement.

“What I like best is spending time with the staff and the assistants because you never know, I might never see him again. So I’m going to spend as much time on it as possible,” Nall said.

The Sheriff's Office receives many applications for this summer camp. Children selected for this scouting program have demonstrated good behavior and academic success throughout the school year.

“I think it gives the kids an opportunity to go to camp and make memories here today and this week with these deputies. I think the deputies appreciate it as much as the kids do,” Sheriff Long said.