The latest class of Community Peace Officers have graduated from the specialized training program in Lac La Biche County.
On Friday, 15 recruits graduated from the 11-week intensive course offered in partnership with the municipality, Portage College and Alberta Justice.
Representatives from Lac La Biche County, the RCMP, and municipal police agencies from across the province, along with family and friends of the newly-minted community peace officers, turned out for the graduation ceremony, which took place at the Bold Centre.
During their time in the program, the recruits learned a variety of skills designed to prepare them for the job, including emergency driving, defensive tactics, law, community bylaw enforcement, conducting collision investigations, as well as how to arrest a suspect after being pepper-sprayed.
Chris Clark, director of the Law Enforcement Training Program, the graduates did very well as they went through the training to become community peace officers.
“The recruits in this class were amazing,” Clark stated. “They have exceeded the expectations of the training centre, and we are happy to see them head out into the world of enforcement.”
The latest class of recruits came from across Alberta and across Canada.
Alexis Fournier, a self-funded student from New Brunswick, was part of the graduation class. Fournier said that while the program was certainly challenging and physically demanding at times, he nonetheless enjoyed the experience of learning to become a community peace officer.
“It was pretty intense, but fun at the same time,” he said, adding that his favourite part of the program was taking the emergency vehicle operator course.
Keith O’Neill, who manages the peace officer program through the government of Alberta, said the duties of community peace officers are based largely on the particular needs of a community or municipality.
“Community peace officers in the province of Alberta fill roles in their individual communities,” he said, adding that some CPOs could be focused on traffic while others will be carrying out the enforcement of municipal bylaws. “It’s not a one size, fits all program…it’s each different community will decide what they need the most…and peace officers fill those roles.”