NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT Police cadet Mackenzie Kipta swears an oath of confidentiality, administered by Medicine Hat Police Service Chiref Andy McGrogan, at a ceremony on Tuesday morning to begin a 21-week training course that includes recruits from Medicine Hat, Taber, Lethbridge and the Blood Tribe police forces.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A new class of police cadets represents the future, said officials at a welcoming ceremony on Tuesday, but also that the training regimen represents the future of police training.
A dozen recruits swore an oath at Medicine Hat police headquarters to begin five months of study in a program developed when small-centre police agencies banded together.
An added note of encouragement was provided by Medicine Hat police chief Andy McGrogan, who previously announced his intention to retire in 2020.
“One of you will be replacing me during my last year,” said McGrogan, who stressed the benefits of developing the cadet program that will outlast many careers.
“Work hard, no celebrating yet, but I know you will succeed.”
The 12 recruits introduced on Tuesday are connected to four police services in southern Alberta, which banded together with Lethbridge College three years ago to develop practical and academic police training program.
Graduates of the upcoming class will be offered entry level positions with the Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Taber and Blood Reserve police agencies, to fill vacancies or replace retiring officers in the coming year.
They will spend 21 weeks in classroom and physical training programs developed by the agencies and administrators at Lethbridge College. For many, that comes after several years of study already in a related program or discipline.
Local recruit Mackenzie Kipta completed a degree in social work focusing on mental health and addictions treatment, and hopes that will augment her skills as a police officer.
“I want to apply that in my own community,” she said.
Another Hatter, Erica Neigum, 22, earned a four-year degree in criminal justice at Lethbridge College and even served with the MHPS this summer in a temporary position before applying to join the local force.
“This really appealed to me because it was such a positive experience,” she said.
Taber police chief Graham Abela said the program was born as police in southern Alberta banded together to develop a cadet system after plans for a regional police training centre in Fort Macleod were permanently shelved in 2012.
For Abela, that smaller departments bolster resources and develop curriculum and programming to replenish their ranks without relying on larger city cadet programming or the RCMP is “very futuristic thinking.”
“You’ve got a lot of organizations that have nowhere to get recruits (trained),” he said. “You get quality academics, great policing and a curriculum that can’t be beat.”
McGrogan called the initiative a further step toward professional development in policing.
“It’s a tremendous partnership,” he told reporters. “I truly cannot understand why departments across the country are not doing this – partnering with post-secondary institution on education.”
