First Grande Prairie Police Service recruits graduate

“Such a big milestone to think that in the past 18 months,” Lakusta says. “We were able to develop our program, meeting and exceeding provincial standards, go through the whole recruiting process, develop our training program, and here we are: graduating our first Recruit Class, but also our third Experienced Officer Class. Which brings our numbers up to 32 sworn officers.”

(Photo Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel leigh

The newly graduated officers will now undergo field training with experienced officers to further develop their skills. with six to be immediately deployed to the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment, while the others are assigned to other duties until new training officers become available.

Of the twelve graduates, eight were from the Peace Region, two were from other parts of Alberta, and two were from BC.

(Photo Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel leigh

Newly made Constable Erik Gault says the training was very demanding both physically and mentally.

“Academically, there’s a lot to learn with law and situations that we’re going to run into inevitably as police officers,” Gault says. “A lot to grapple on with, both intellectually and socially as well, with interacting with people. Although very intense, it was very much a growing experience for me.”

Grande Prairie Police Commission Chair Dan Wong says GPPS is the first Municipal Police service in Alberta since 1967.

“The record-keeping back in 1967 wasn’t very good,” says Wong. “They’re creating a whole playbook now, based on their own experiences, the best practices that are happening around the country and the mistakes or pitfalls that other communities have experienced.

(Photo Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel leigh

The ceremony also marked the graduation of the GPPS’ 2nd Experienced Officer Class, with two officers also joining the RCMP and the other joining the GPPS recruitment team.

GPPS will start training its second recruit class at the end of March; recruitment for Recruit Class #3 and Experienced Officer Program #4 is still in progress.

Superintendent, Corporate Services & Community Support Division Greg Redl says he recently met with the first-class graduates to gather feedback to help prepare for the second class.

“It was a first one, we’ve never done it before,” Redl says. “So, we have learned a few things with respect to scheduling when we offer certain courses within the training program. We’ll make some adjustments to that for the next one, and to continually evolve the training program every year.”

(Photo Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel leigh

Chief Lakusta is calling the graduation a significant step in getting the service fully up and running.

“What we’re offering is a tiered policing model,” he says, “We’re utilizing advancements in technology, and the level of service that we’re providing is going to far exceed what is currently being provided.”