Grande Prairie RCMP joined by six recruits from first Grande Prairie Police Service graduating class

The Grande Prairie RCMP has been joined by six new Grande Prairie Police Service (GPPS) constables and three more experienced officers. The new officers join the detachment following graduation from their training program in late February, where they will commence an on-the-job field coaching program delivered by experienced GPPS officers. This brings the total complement of GPPS officers assigned to the detachment to 13.

Additionally, six other GPPS graduates have been assigned to the local Community Standards Unit (CSU). CSU is a GPPS and Grande Prairie Enforcement Services (GPES) led program, and this group of graduates will be active in Grande Prairie’s downtown to monitor disorder and provide community policing services. Although these graduates will be limited in their roles and responsibilities by strict policy until their training is complete, they will reinforce public safety with a law enforcement presence in the core.

To ensure citizens receive a consistent approach to policing during the transition, all new GPPS officers assigned to the RCMP detachment, in addition to their core police training, received extra training to become familiar with RCMP policies and procedures.

Citizens are reminded that, since the Grande Prairie RCMP remains the police of jurisdiction during the transition period, the process to follow during an emergency is still the same.

“If you’re experiencing an emergency, you still call 911. If it’s not an emergency or you need to report a crime, you still call the RCMP detachment directly,” says McLeod.

Information provided by the Grande Prairie Police Service