A new officer has been hired for the Altona Police Service, rounding out the department's constable contingent.
Tristan Fournier-Jones' first day on the job was this past Tuesday. His hiring follows a series of promotions within the department following the September 1st retirement of former Chief Batchelor, explained Chief Dan Defer.
"That opened up a position. Obviously, I moved up into the Chief's chair, Corporal Tarnick moved up to Sergeant and one of the Constables will be promoted to Corporal, so we will be short one constable and that's the spot Tristan is filling."
Fournier-Jones comes to the department with previous experience as a probation officer and as a current serving police officer, coming from a detachment in Western Manitoba. These are the reasons, according to Defer, why his application rose to the top of the pool.
"The biggest issue for a small town is the training aspect," explained the Chief. "Sending someone off for recruit training is expensive...and the whole process is about a year, so we'd be short a person for another year. Now, we've got a body that can go out on to the street within a month."
For Fournier-Jones, originally from a small town in Southeast Manitoba, the job with the Altona Police Service brings him and his wife closer to family.
"I'm just getting the lay of the land right now, but I'm really looking forward to working with the team here, it seems like a nice small, tight-knit group," said Fournier-Jones, adding he is also looking forward to developing relationships within the department and with the community at-large.
It also helps round out his long term goal of becoming a police officer, providing an opportunity to further engage and expand on his previous experience in working with offenders to reduce recidivism rates.
Fournier-Jones says he looks forward to his first set of shifts with the Altona Police Service next week.