FORT MCPHERSON - Fort McPherson Const. Jason Muzzerall often visits Chief Julius school as a recruiting officer.

It's a fun break from police work, he said, but he often gets asked the same questions.

Dre Inglangasuk is a student at Fort McPherson's Chief Julius school. Like many students, he got the chance to don the red serge this month and ask questions about becoming an RCMP officer. A serious inquiry or just playing dress-up? Only time will tell. - photo courtesy of Merle Carpenter/Fort McPherson RCMP

"We get all the obvious ones, like 'can I hold your gun?'" he said with a laugh.

Of course, Muzzerall said students also ask serious questions about police work.

While the kids are too young to enroll - the officers visited youth in Grade 6 - he added it's important to let them know they could be officers in the future.

"We're always trying to actively recruit people from the North. We find if we start early and get the idea in their head, it can move things forward," he said.

Muzzerall said the first step to being an officer is to graduate high school.

Then, the interested person should contact the local detachment office.

Even in relatively small hamlets like Fort McPherson, he said, officers can provide an initial assessment exam, which is forwarded to Yellowknife.

"I can sit the exam here in McPherson, I've done that a number of times," said Muzzerall.

If the applicant passes, the next step might be university, college or a direct route to 24-weeks at the RCMP's training academy in Regina, Sask.

Muzzerall said part of the course includes physical training -- so you better be able to do pull-ups -- and psychological profiling.

"They even put me through a polygraph test," he recalled.

"You have to account for the last 10 years of your life and provide references."

Upon graduation, Muzzerall added RCMP officers are cast to the wind, potentially going anywhere in Canada.

Therefore, a teen from Fort McPherson might not necessarily be able to return there.

"I'm not sure how likely that would be," Muzzerall said, adding no one wants to arrest their relatives or former friends anyway.

"From experience, in a small community, it seems they might experience a bit of resentment from certain people. It would make it difficult to do their work professionally and without prejudice," Muzzerall said.

There are some examples such as Inuvik officers Dino Norris and Noella Cockney, who today work in their home territory.

And while the minimum age for applying is 19, Muzzerall said it's important to visit students in their early years.

"(Being an officer) takes into account your life experience, good moral standing character, stuff like that," he said.

"That stuff starts at a young age."