SLIDE SHOW: BGPD hosts annual Junior Police Academy
Published 2:47 pm Wednesday, July 9, 2025
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Bowling Green Police Officer Andrew Kilbourne shows a group of children from the Junior Police Academy his bulletproof vest during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs outside the police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Jenna Wheat (right) and Akeel Goita (left) swab faux blood for evidence as they and a group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a pretend crime at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Akeel Goita takes a turn sitting in the backseat of Bowling Green Police Officer Andrew Kilbourne’s police car during the Junior Police Academy’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs outside the police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Bowling Green Police Deputy Chief Penny Bowles shows a group of children from the Junior Police Academy the pepper spray and other tools she keeps on her belt during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs at police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Ronnie Ward, public information officer for the Bowling Green Police Department, shows a group of children from the Junior Police Academy his police badge during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs at police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Bowling Green Police Department Community Resource officer Amber Kae Bowman shows a group of children from the Junior Police Academy one of the spike strips the officers use during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs outside the police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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The Bowling Green Police Department hosts a group of children for three days of the Junior Police Academy to teach them about the police department and how the officers do their jobs at police headquarters starting on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Bowling Green Police Deputy Chief Penny Bowles lets Katie Rimington (center) and other children in the Junior Police Academy how heavy her utility belt is during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs at police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Akeel Goita checks out Bowling Green Police Deputy Chief Penny Bowles’ body camera as it gets passed around to the children in the Junior Police Academy during the JPA’s first day of sessions learning about the police department and how the officers do their jobs at police headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Downtown Development Coordinator Telia Butler answers questions as a witness to a faux crime as she was pretending to set up for the annual Harvest Festival at the SOKY Center as the children in the BGPD’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate the crime scene during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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A group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a faux crime scene at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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A group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a faux crime scene at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Katie Rimington sketches the evidence of a faux crime scene as she and a group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a pretend crime at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Akeel Goita collects a rubber gun for evidence from a faux crime scene as he and a group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a pretend crime at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
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Jenna Wheat helps put a plastic bag of evidence into an evidence bag as she and a group of children in the Bowling Green Police Department’s annual Junior Police Academy investigate a pretend crime at SOKY Center during the JPA’s first day of sessions on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
The Bowling Green Police Department began its first session of the annual Junior Police Academy on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, teaching the children about the equipment officers carry and use daily, how to investigate and process crime scene evidence and more. The academy wraps up Friday afternoon with a graduation ceremony and reception.
About Grace McDowell
Photojournalist for the Bowling Green Daily News since 2019. Any news or sports tips? Send them my way at grace.mcdowell@bgdailynews.com!
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