By Alex Coop
acoop@estevanmercury.ca
Coinciding with the enrollment of a new constable, the Estevan Police Service is going to endure some slight alterations as it moves forward.
The first order of business is finding replacements for two officers who recently stepped down from their positions in recent months, said Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur. He said their reasons for departure were family related.
"We're actually running below full strength until we have our two recruits trained," he said, adding they are in the midst of the recruitment process, which has already proven to be successful with the addition of Mohammad Kahn from the University of Regina. He will be heading to police college in Regina in the coming weeks to participate in a 20-week program that will finalize his training and allow him to return to Estevan with the skills required to fulfill his duties as a constable.
Ladouceur acknowledged the fact that hiring an experienced officer will help them fill the slight gap in their unit quicker, but didn't rule out hiring another fresh face.
"We like to keep a mix, we're not opposed to hiring seasoned officers but we're not opposed to hiring new officers too," he said. "We like to give them that opportunity."
As for the rest of the staff, the police chief said the numbers are pretty stable, and he doesn't foresee many changes in the near future.
"I wouldn't say we're overstaffed by any means, but I certainly wouldn't say we're understaffed either," he said.
He did however, suggest that changes within the administrative offices are being looked at in order for the police service to run more efficiently. He attributed the need for these steps to be taken as a result of the growing population in Estevan, which also directly ties into the bustling oil industry surrounding the city. This growing population goes hand in hand with the expanding police service, which since the early 80s, has gone from 16 officers to 26 over the past 15 years.
"Some of that may be looking at things that we've predominantly done through old style paperwork and modernizing that to go electronic," he said, using budgeting or accounting aspects of the service as examples.
Ladouceur once again stressed the focus the police will continue to have on drugs within the community. He said the city isn't in an emergency situation when it comes to drugs, but added it's about preventing the problem from escalating.
"Drugs impact the community as a whole," he said, noting the additional types of crime that emerge because of drug-related occurrences in a community, called the spill off.
"If we're seeing an increase in drug use, typically you often see a spill off and an increase in other criminal activity as well," he said. The police chief indicated he "isn't blind" to the fact that drugs are also circulated in schools, and said extra effort in protecting children is going to continue to be a high priority for police.
Ladouceur reminded residents that the police service "doesn't run on an endless budget" and that any purchases made from here on out will be made out of necessity.
"As the police chief, the items that I ask for, for this police service, will be necessities, not luxuries," he said.
The ongoing interaction among other police services across the province will continue to be a part of their goals, alongside the interaction with the community, which without, Ladouceur said, the police service wouldn't be able to function. Monitoring trends across the globe and locating efficiencies in their department will be ongoing.
"Change is coming, without a doubt, but before I make any large scale changes there will be a lot of thought put into it and in-depth consultation with the board," said Ladouceur. "These changes I feel are necessary, and they're not so much changes in the increase or decrease of staffing, but more so a realignment of staffing."
