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RCMP playing active role at Fort Resolution school Paul Bickford Northern News Services Published Monday, May 7, 2012
As part of that goal, St. Pierre and the two constables at the detachment in Fort Resolution are deeply involved in activities at Deninu School. "It's part of our priorities," he said. "Youth is a priority." The Mounties are active at Deninu School in a number of ways, such as participating in literacy events, judging oratories in which students read stories and poems, and joining in sports such as an annual hockey tournament. Recently, members of the detachment also helped out when a Hay River biathlon coach visited Deninu School to give a workshop on shooting. "If they want us to be there, we're always there for them," said St. Pierre. The corporal noted that, any time the school has an event coming up, the RCMP makes sure they are available to help, as work commitments allow. "Obviously, if we're tied up with work, we can't attend for obvious reasons, but, if we can, we'll always make sure someone is there for the school," he said. The RCMP is also launching a new initiative called a school resource officer program, where one of the members will be at Deninu School usually twice a month. "That's a scheduled thing where we go in and we're a resource for not only the students, but the school itself and the staff if they have any questions," St. Pierre explained, adding it will allow students to talk to police about any of their concerns in a safe environment. The conversations could be about many subjects, the corporal said, "not only about policing issues, but anything, because everybody has a wide variety of experience." For instance, St. Pierre noted be was a mechanic before becoming a police officer, so he might even talk to students about that career experience and how he learned the trade. The corporal said the police are so involved at Deninu School to be role models for the students. "It's just being positive overall," he said. Such involvement also creates a good relationship with young people in the community. St. Pierre said the detachment's involvement at Deninu School shows students that police officers are regular people just like them. "The students afterwards get to know us and they're not afraid to talk to us," he said, noting he was recently shopping in Hay River when a group of students from Fort Resolution stopped and chatted with him. "They all know us by our names. So they know that we're approachable. It's just to reinforce that positive relationship with them to know that we're always willing to talk to them and we're not the big scary policeman." St. Pierre, who is originally from Saskatchewan, has served for almost two years in Fort Resolution, where he said a very good relationship exists between the police and young people. "I think it's very positive. The youth in this community are very good youth," he said, noting the community doesn't experience a lot of youth crime.
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