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Cops arrest Girl Guides

Girl Guides learned about the court system Saturday as part of Law Day
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Knox Mountain Girl Guides Avery Woods (left) and Meredith Fowke are led by Const. Cam Law to the Court House in downtown Kelowna as part of Law Day, Saturday. - Image Credit: Carli Berry/Capital News

Daisy Osberg, 11, wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

On Saturday, she got a first-hand experience to learn the court system.

As a Girl Guide, Osberg took part in Law Day, an event centered around informing the public on how the public system works.

“It will be fun, but I’m not sure if it will be intimidating or not,” she said, adding she’s looking forward to every part of Law Day.

“I didn’t even know Kelowna had a courthouse,” she said.

Girl Guide leader Roni Carson has been involved with Law Day for more than 20 years.

“In Girl Guides there’s a badge called Law Awareness, it’s a really dull and boring badge, so as a leader I wanted to make it fun.”

Carson said the goal is for the girls to learn the different roles in the legal system.

“It just opens their eyes to a whole lot of different opportunities,” she said.

The Grade 6 Girl Guides are the only ones to get arrested, so it’s something for them to look forward to before they age out, said Carson. Twenty Pathfinders will also be involved with Law Day as the jury.

Part of the event held a mock trial involving the Girl Guides. The girls “committed” a crime before being handcuffed and led into the courthouse by the RCMP.

“It’s intended as an outreach for the community to let the public know how the public systems work, to demystify it and to tell them about the resources available,” said lawyer/chair organizer Michael Sinclair.

The event, he said, is meant to be light-hearted, but there are professional lawyers involved.

The Kelowna Women’s Shelter, Okanagan College, the Kelowna RCMP and other community partners were at the Court House offering resources and information.

Law Day was held as part of a national event celebrating the signing of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The event was held April 29.