New program at Samson helps police nation

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At the Samson reserve south of Edmonton, three community constables patrol the streets and trails of the reserve, the city of Wetaskiwin and surrounding rural area.

Yvonne Nepoose, Gabriel Dennehy and Ohpahmotaow Yellowbird presently training under the Community Constable Employment and Training Program assist the RCMP with policing services.

The program that runs from Oct.11 until April 30, 2000 consists of one month training at the RCMP training academy in Regina and on-the-job training for six months. In Regina, the candidates were trained in such procedures as first aid and CPR, baton and pepper spray use, self-defense, courtroom preparation and other subjects.

"We did one week of speed handcuffing, police defense tactics. We did baton training, and pepper spray. It was very interesting. I, myself, enjoyed the training. It was a challenge. It was educating," said Yvonne Nepoose, community constable trainee. "I've always wanted to be a police officer, and now that I've been given this opportunity, eventually I will look towards being a regular member of the RCMP. There are a lot of interesting things in policing that I want to continue to be involved with," she said.

In the future, the reserve would like to see more of its community members involved in this course. The program focuses on anyone over the age of 18 who is a member of Samson Cree Nation.

"That's the idea behind the community constable program. We want somebody who has lived in that community and who is presently living in the community. They would have intimate knowledge of the community and they would understand community issues, whereas if someone from outside the community came in, they would feel lost," said Sgt. Brian Simpson, Wetaskiwin City, RCMP. "It is a unique program in the fact that it is not just limited to the Samson Cree Nation. Out of the three community constables, one is working in the city of Wetaskiwin, one is working in the rural area, and the other is working in Samson," he said.

The Samson reserve covers the salary, benefits, and overtime wages of the community constables.

The program is solely funded by the Samson Cree Nation. While participants are in training, they receive a training allowance, as if they were attending university, and that is also based on the amount of dependents they have, said Karen Pelletier, policing co-ordinator, Samson Cree Nation. "When they complete the course they get paid from Samson Cree Nation as an employee of the Samson Cree Nation, although they follow the administration and procedures of the RCMP," she said.

The community officers wear the traditional colors of the RCMP and are identified by a badge that says community constable. They do not carry a gun, but they carry a baton and pepper spray.

Upon graduation the three constables will have developed skills to assist the RCMP in developing a safer community on the reserve.

"The community constable is assigned a trainer, a constable that will familiarize them with police procedures, paper work and the protocols that the police follow on a daily basis," said Simpson. "The area of Samson and the surrounding area in terms of a policing environment is very busy. That is one reason why the program was brought in to play, to look at some solutions to some of the policing issues out there. We are hoping through the community constable program that we will be able to identify some of the issues of the community and then find some possible solutions, and work towards them," he said.

"It is an idea that is available to any community. Some communities in Alberta have adopted this program. In one of the communities, they've used the community constable as a liaison worker in their school," said Simpson. "This is an excellent program, two-fold because it is a resource to the police and helps with communication, and identifying issues. It also allows individuals in the community the opportunity to be exposed to police work, to makean initialcommitment to see whether or not they want to be a member of the RCMP. Having said that, any community could potentially look at this program. It all depends on what the community needs are," he said.

The Sampson reserve is home to nearly 6,000 Aboriginal people and is the largest of the four reserves that make up Hobbema.