The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has two new officers, and has announced a few other shifts in their organization.
Const. Jarren Senchuk, who is originally from Estevan, and Const. Garth Mostowich, who hails from Prince Albert, graduated from the Saskatchewan Police College in Regina on May 27. Chief Paul Ladouceur, Insp. Murray Cowan and the families of both officers were among those in attendance.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for both of them, obviously,” said Ladouceur. “They spend a good length of time at the college, and both are certainly glad to be back. Now, the real work begins.”
Both officers were sworn in during a ceremony in Estevan in late January, not long after they had started their training at the police college.
Senchuk and Mostowich were in Weyburn on May 30 and 31 for training on radar devices, both standard and laser. Then they were trained on the use of Tasers before returning to Estevan.
Mostowich started on June 2, while Senchuk’s first day on patrol was June 6.
Each will have a coach officer for their first six months on the job to help them adjust to their new careers. Const. Warren Morrical has been paired with Mostowich, and Const. Lana Gropp will work with Senchuk.
“Both of those officers (Morrical and Gropp) have a wealth of knowledge and experience in policing, and I think they will do an outstanding job,” said Ladouceur. “I’m very impressed, as the chief, so far, with both the recruits. They did outstanding at the college, both academically and physically.”
Senchuk and Mostowich are also community-oriented individuals, which is key for the EPS. They will spend some time on foot patrols so they can get to know the community.
“As we get further on in the coaching process, what will happen is they’ll be let out on their own to do partial patrols for a portion of their shift, and then they’ll check back in regularly throughout the shift with their coach officer to let them know how things are going,” said Ladouceur.
Mostowich and Senchuk will be closely supervised and monitored throughout their probationary period, which lasts for one year.
The EPS receives a number of applications from police officers each year, so the police chief believes Senchuk and Mostowich should be proud to be part of the EPS, since the competition is quite intense.
The EPS has also announced that Const. Trevor Roberts and Const. Don Dechief are shifting to the criminal investigations division, effective June 6, and will be the detectives for the EPS. Const. Braden Lonsberry will also begin his work in the new forensics identification division of the EPS.
Const. Jay Pierson, who had been working as the EPS detective for a number of years, will move into the traffic unit.
“Detective Pierson served a long time in our criminal investigations division, and he’s looking, hopefully, to promote down the road at some time,” said Ladouceur. “One of the things he had asked for was some other experiences within the organization, so that he has a very rounded knowledge of the entire police organization.”
Ladouceur believes there is enough work to justify having two detectives within the EPS.
“They can properly investigate serious incidents and have the coverage that we need when those calls come in,” said Ladouceur. “Serious assaults, robberies, thefts and things like that don’t always happen during the daytime hours, so we have to have the availability … for those members as well, while ensuring they have a healthy personal life.”
The EPS lays significant charges on a regular basis, and Ladouceur believes the presence of two detectives will benefit the criminal investigations division, and he hopes the solve rate for the EPS will increase.
Finally, Const. Danielle Stephany, who had been working on patrols for the last few months, will be the community liaison officer starting in the fall. Stephany will work with schools, businesses and senior citizens when school resumes in September.
She had been the school resource officer in 2014 and 2015, but shifted back to patrols when an officer went on a medical leave of absence. That officer is slated to return from leave in August.
With the new officers in place, and the other officer returning to active duty, it will bring the EPS back up to a full complement of 25 officers.
