By Erika Rolling

Municipal Police Force

GPPS recruits take training to the track

Oct 7, 2024 | 12:28 PM

The newest members of the Grande Prairie Police Service took to the old airstrip in Beaverlodge (NAPA Auto Parts Raceway) last week for what some recruits say has been the funnest part of their extensive training.

Recruits wrapped up their first month of training by hitting the track in police cruisers to learn how to drive defensively and carefully through an obstacle course.

Their first four weeks of training consisted of basics of the law, powers of arrest, as well as verbal judo and de-escalation.

Superintendent of Corporate Services & Community Support Division with the GPPS, Greg Redl says training the recruits is progressive.

“As they go forward, everything they learn every week, it builds on the thing before them. So largely the first month has been the foundations.”

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Redl notes the driving portion of training is some of the most exciting to do and a necessary skill that is used daily by officers.

Course made at the Beaverlodge Airstrip for GPPS recruit training. Photo courtesy Erika Rolling/EverythingGP.

He notes among the instructor’s training, there is a sense of pride in getting to teach the first class of recruits for the GPPS.

“We got this set-up, we are out at a driving track providing this training we got the vehicles, the equipment, a class of twelve recruits… Everything is going so well, exceeding expectations we had for ourselves, especially with the time frame in question.”

The first group of recruits still have around five months left in their 26-week training period.

Redl says the next steps include more hands-on training.

“They’re going to be getting into more firearms training, which is not a very commonly used skill but a very important one and important to be proficient at.”

Control tactics training will also begin, which consists of practicing to physically apprehend suspects.

He says drills will also be learned, such as marching for ceremonies that take place where police are asked to attend, “so they look professional and represent our agency well.”

GPPS Superintendent Greg Redl. Photo courtesy Erika Rolling/Everything GP.

Redl says of the inductees; nearly half of them have some form of experience in related fields before joining the service. He says they can be “mentors” to the rest of the class.

New recruits, local to the city; Erik Gault and Matt Caseley say their class ranges in age from 21-45, with a good mix of backgrounds in careers prior.

They say the group of twelve inductees have been competitive, yet the resounding theme in training so far has been supportive.

“Some people are naturally better at different things, so they are helping each other out and encouraging, providing advice, and other things,” Gault says.

Caseley notes the driving portion of training has been his favourite part as he has a knack for it, unlike Gault which he admits.

Caseley says the most surprising part of training is how much cardio they’ve been doing, “we are getting whipped into shape very quickly.”

Gault says there’s a lot of learning still to go, “but it’s neat to see how pieces are coming together as we go with new bits of training as we discover how things work now, and what the plan is for the future.”

The new recruits agree they are looking forward to the end of training and hitting the streets of Grande Prairie in the Spring of 2025.

Recruits Matt Caseley and Erik Gault. Photo courtesy Erika Rolling/EverythingGP.