Yellowknife (July 21/03) - Most people wouldn't enjoy the stress, potential danger and constant moving around that entails being a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. Not so with Corporal James Buhler.

Recently promoted to corporal in charge of restorative justice, Buhler organizes different initiatives involving the community and detachment.

"It's a grassroots way of dealing with the lesser nature of criminal activity, thus freeing up the courts for more serious matters," he said.

For a dozen years, Buhler protected and served the Northwest Territories as a member of the RCMP 'G' Division major crime unit.

He has always enjoyed his placements in communities around the North.

"Some postings are more challenging than others," Buhler said. "If you're not being challenged, you tend to be more complacent."

Buhler, his wife Dale and their two children, Matthew and Anna, moved to the capital five years ago.

Prior to that they spent a year in Hay River, were in Fort Simpson for three, Inuvik for one and spent two years each in Fort McPherson and Fort Providence.

"I loved my time in Fort Simpson. We had a lot of communities to police."

Buhler's main responsibility was Jean Marie River. During the three hour boat patrols he made sure to stop and visit the cultural camps.

Buhler said the best part of working in major crime was getting to fly back to a community as part of a suspicious death or crime activity.

"I got to go back and set nets for a couple of elders in McPherson," he said. "They're just wonderful people."

Meeting and Greeting

At each new posting Buhler would introduce himself everyday until the community got to know him. He would send letters to the mayor, band councils and would go to many group meetings.

"You have to be pro-active and community-minded. Getting involved is a big factor," he said.

"If you have any preconceived notions about a place, you probably shouldn't go there."

Buhler got involved in the community by starting Beavers, running clubs and coaching hockey teams.

Since his wife is a nurse, she "probably meets people quicker than I do cause they have to go to the nursing station," Buhler said.

"The people I meet off hand through the job are... guarded. It's hard for them to open up because they've seen so many police officers come through."

At the time, officers were usually only posted for two years at a time. Currently, officers' limited duration posts have been extended to about four years in order to promote continuity.

"If you do your job well, people know who you are," he said. "You have to be fair but firm as a cop."

Another way to be known is to spend time with people.

"Officers volunteer to (substitute teach) on the side and teach life skills to older youth," Buhler said.

"It helps us understand youth and their dynamics... not just as police officers, but as adults dealing with teenagers."

To officers just starting out, Buhler has a few tips that should make moving around easier.

"Pack light, treat people with respect and be ever conscious of the environment. It can be trying at times but be positive and keep your chin up," he advised.

"Also, make sure you bring a Ski-Doo."

According to Buhler, the one down side to moving is unpacking all your effects.

"The houses (we stayed in) had their own furniture. We didn't see our own for five years. When we did it was like, 'whose is this?'"

Romance is in the air

Buhler grew up in Hay River, where he played every kind of sport including wrestling, basketball, volleyball and hockey.

"What kind of Canadian doesn't play hockey?" he jokes.

Buhler worked for five years as a corrections officer there. It was then that he met his wife.

"We met at the hospital. I was bringing a client there to be looked at."

It was the future Mrs. Dale Buhler's fourth day in the North and she had plans to travel to the Yukon and Alaska before going to work in California. Her plans did change a little.

"She still visited those spots, just married," he said, laughing.

James and Dale Buhler were engaged before he started RCMP training in Regina on Aug. 12, 1991. The couple wed in Winnipeg that same year.

"I always saw police officers as role models growing up," Buhler said about officers' involvement in his home town.

"I always respected that. Being a police officer or joining the army was on the back of my mind as a kid."

Buhler's son Matthew, now 10, was delivered by a midwife in Fort Simpson and his daughter Anna, now 8, was born in Hay River.

In some settlements both he and Dale were on call at the same time.

"I'd go out, call back and tell her to come out," he said about distress calls. "It was like 'tag, you're it.'"

It became even more difficult to be on call when child care issues came into play after their two children were born.

"Who can you call at three in the morning, on two minutes notice?"

Still, being left to their own devices was all part of the great adventure and appeal to living in the North.

"You make great friends," Buhler said. "The North is large but the population is small. You're bound to run into someone you know."

Looking to the future

When he and his family first moved to Yellowknife there was a period of adjustment, especially for the children.

"Schooling differs in settlements. There's more challenges," he said.

Anna and Matthew had to get extra tutoring to catch up with their peers.

"There's only so many resources in each community," Buhler said. "(There's) not as many options for kids."

He wants to stay settled down long enough for his kids to finish Grade 12 and go to university, "so they have that friendship support."

Buhler said each time they move, his kids are sad to leave their friends "but understand it's daddy's job. It's life as a son or daughter of a Mountie."

To help their children adjust to moves, the Buhlers encourage them to write letters and keep in contact with friends. Occasionally the family has met up with old friends while on vacation.

Now acting as divisional co-ordinator for all of the NWT, Buhler said he is suitably posted and plans to stay in Yellowknife for a couple of more years.

Still, "if a position opened up, I'd apply for advancements just like everyone else."