The Estevan Police Service (EPS) announced Friday morning that they've recruited two new members, who are filling the positions that were left vacant earlier.
Constable Katelynn Ruthven, 25, of Regina and Constable Justin Nelson, 27, of Moose Jaw joined the EPS as of Dec. 3.
Ruthven and Nelson have post-secondary education in policing.
"Both of them have shown commitment and dedication to policing. Both have a strong interest in relocating to this community and becoming a part of this community," said Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur. "There was an extensive search conducted from this police service, which was both in province and out of province. And we felt at the end of the day that these were two candidates that's the best. We are happy to welcome them."
"These members are not an increase in complement, but to replace the previously existing members," Ladouceur added.
There are also some further changes. It was officially announced that programming officer Monica Rae was promoted to an in-house social worker with the EPS. Rae has a social work background and is registered with the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers.
"Social workers help resolve problems that affect our day-to-day lives. People see social workers when they are going through difficult periods in their lives, be it personal, family or work. Social workers help find, identify and understand the sources of stress and difficulties, develop coping skills and effective solutions for their problems by providing ongoing counselling and support," Ladouceur said.
Moving into the new year, the EPS is looking into the social welfare and harm reduction model of policing in conjunction with traditional policing and law enforcement efforts.
"This position and approach is the first in the province, and will undergo continuous review and design development throughout 2021 as we formalize the role and responsibilities," Ladouceur pointed out.
Rae will be working with individuals, families and children that have come into contact with the police to assess needs and connect people with the most appropriate services and professionals. She will also assist with the interviewing of children and domestic dispute situations as the role develops.
"The in-house social worker will also follow up with individuals to evaluate service delivery and satisfaction levels, so we can continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the services that we provide," Ladouceur said.
For example, Rae will be tasked with following up with people placing Report Impaired Drivers (RID) calls or other calls for service, so they would be aware of the outcome. She will also check on individuals or families, where EPS members attended the scene.
Rae will continue providing education and support to schools, seniors and vulnerable citizens and represent the service on the southeast region’s behalf.
"Really happy to announce this program. It's certainly a different approach for policing. It's new, and it's something that we'll be working through," Ladouceur said.
"We want to start to address the root causes of why people are coming into conflict with the police and help them (so) that will avoid them coming into future conflict with the police."
Ladouceur added that by expanding Rae's responsibilities they also hope to ensure that they are doing their best when delivering services, as she will be looking for feedback from the community, which will help the EPS improve in the future.
Rae will also continue with her duties as a community programming officer, as the in-house social worker is not an extra position, but rather an expansion of the existing duties.
