The first batch of 12 Grande Prairie Police Service recruits have entered the fourth week of their 26-week-long training program, and two fresh faces have shared some thoughts on the process so far.
Recruit Constables Erik Gault and Matt Caseley are both Grande Prairie locals, with two completely different backgrounds. Gault worked a variety of jobs in the Peace Country and Caseley worked as a coach with the Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools, which both agree, is a trend among their fellow recruits.
“Matt being involved with the athletics so much, I think that’s really helped him, I actually in a previous life was a commercial pilot, so some of the law I found that, hey, okay, I know it’s air law compared to criminal law it’s the same sort of format, so things cross over,” Gault says.
“Just from different types of communicating, right? With different demographics different age categories, and different age groups, I think we have a really wide broad spectrum of experiences here,” Caseley adds.
Excitement seems to be the primary emotion being felt among the class of 12, and Gault says the most encouraging part of the training process has been the strong support network around them.
“People are helping each other out when they see hey, you know I saw you this and you can maybe word it this way or good job on that and look really encouraging stuff and so different people are naturally better at different things so they’re helping each other out and encouraging each other and providing advice or whatever different people need,” he says. “I’m really excited about what we’ve heard of things are going to be like.”
So far, the group has spent most of their time in the classroom, learning to navigate the criminal code and best practices as a law enforcement official, with hands-on learning scheduled in the future, but both Gault and Caseley agree their favourite parts of the process have been in the field.
“I love this driving, the driving is very fun, [I have] a bit of a natural knack for it too, so that seems to help that cause, but yeah, for me, by far, the driving is the best part so far,” Caseley says.
“I’m actually still excited about some things to come, but so far, I would say I’m gonna go with the driving for now, this has been the most exciting thing so far,” Gault agrees.
Still, the more enjoyable parts of officer training do not come without some demands on the officer’s mental and physical health, with workouts playing a “surprisingly” critical role in the process.
“The most surprising is the amount of cardio that we’ve been doing through our workouts, we are getting whipped into shape very quickly,” Caseley says.
Gault on the other hand says he has found the physical evaluations quite enjoyable as an older recruit. He credits the demanding workouts with opening his eyes to his physical potential.
“I’ve been really enjoying the athletic development of it, I ran further than I ever have before, last night, so that was exciting, and I’m 41 years old, so that was, for me, that was a big deal,” he says.
As a member of the GPPS’ first new recruit class Caseley shared a message for anyone considering enrollment at the new agency. He says while training is hard work, recruits are being set up for success.
“Some of our days start at 5:30 in the morning, with our fitness, even earlier our classes typically go to four, but even here we’re here till five o’clock, so there’s a, almost a 12 hour day right there, and of course, there’s always workouts,” he says. “It is a lot of work but it’s definitely something that you can do if you really want it.”
The first class of recruits is slated to graduate sometime in February, hitting the streets soon after, and Caseley says he and his fellow recruits are looking forward to supporting the city’s residents as soon as they are able.
“We look forward to getting out there, that is for sure, that’s the reason why we are here,” he says. “That’s ultimately why we’ve got police officers to get out there and help the people of Grande Prairie, so we are looking forward to doing that.”
Community policing has been top of mind for GPPS officials throughout the transition period, with Chief Dwayne Lakusta being quite vocal about his plans to engage more with the public, which Gault says has trickled down to the recruit level.
“Not every problem can be solved with the hammer,” Gault says. “There’s a lot of situations where it takes, maybe somebody struggling with something mentally and stuff like that, we’re getting a lot of training with that sort of a thing.”
“For example, there’s a beat that’s gonna be walking around being more directly involved with the community instead of staying off in the cars, being more upfront and involved with people before there’s a crime, instead of just hey, there’s a problem, police are going to show up,” he adds.
The recruit adds that he is impressed with the GPPS’ ability to adapt as technology and culture continue to shift rapidly around the globe, saying he is excited to be a part of a more modernized approach to policing.
“I just, I’m really excited to see how not only we can adapt socially, but we can also adapt technologically to whatever Grande Prairie is going through,” he says.
The class still has around five months until their graduation, and instructors have indicated they are thrilled to see all 12 recruits continue to grow and develop their skills as police officers.
