The atmosphere was celebratory at the headquarters of the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS), as three new members were sworn into the ever-expanding department of Saskatchewan’s fourth largest city.
“We are crime preventers. We're problem solvers. We’re peacekeepers. We’re community builders. That's what we are – and this signifies all of those values that we bring to policing,” MJPS Chief Rick Bourassa told CTV News at the service’s most recent swearing in ceremony.
MJPS has been pushing for a long time to get the tools and resources the department needs to become self sufficient.
The long and arduous journey begins with filling existing vacancies.
“These are replacements to the service - so we have an authorized strength that we can be at but we're always behind on getting ourselves to full strength,” Bourassa explained.
“So this is an ongoing process and we're always in the recruiting and selection process.”
It’s a process Gavin Karakochuk is thankful for – as it’s led him to be sworn into his dream job of becoming a police officer.
“I can't really say that it’s truly sunk in - that this is what's happening until right now. It's super exciting,” he told CTV News.
“My family’s here and everything and it’s a very important moment in my life. So I'm just over the moon right now to tell you the truth.”
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As for his reasoning of starting his career in a smaller community – it all comes down to his roots.
“I grew up in a rural area where everybody kind of knows everybody, its really important to me. So living in a smaller city - I feel is a place where I can get closer to that and closer to where I want to be - as well as in addition to the police service itself,” he explained.
“I think it's an outstanding police service. They do a lot of great things in their community and I'm absolutely ecstatic to be a part of it.”
The addition of the newest recruits mark another step in Bourassa’s service becoming a versatile force on its own.
Up until recently, Moose Jaw had to rely on other communities for services such as Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) – now the city boasts its very own unit.
And that’s not all.
“We've created two, full-time police crisis teams, which are a police officer and a mental health professional working together. So we have seven day-a-week coverage there. We've increased our investigative capacity to get at some of those larger issues that are going on in the community and in our region with our other partners,” Bourassa explained.
“So we've had a very active response there and we're going to continue to grow that response.”
As for Karakochuk, he’s just happy to get started with training.
“I'm looking forward to every little bit of it,” he said.
“I just want to soak in everything. Take it all in and be the absolute best that I can be.”
