Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River Reserve (Jun 18/01) - The long arm of the law has reached out to the Hay River Dene Reserve with the addition of an RCMP Community Constable.
Agnes Fabian went to Regina in February for the RCMP's intensive three-week training program and started work on March 2.
Law enforcement has been a career goal for Fabian since elementary school.
"This has been something I wanted to do since I was a kid," she said. "When I was in elementary school, we'd have officers come in and show us the equipment and talk about their jobs and I really found it interesting."
Fabian's first attempt to get into the RCMP was denied through funding cuts, so she put her dream on hold for a few years, tried again and succeeded.
Her first day on the job, she was called to pick up an intoxicated person in a public place and her second call was a car fire out on the highway.
"It always keeps you on your toes," she smiled.
The mom of four said she's had to learn to drive at high speeds and enjoys the job, because of the excitement with each new day.
"There's been a few times when it's been pretty scary," she said. "I have to get used to driving fast, because we have to get to calls in a hurry sometimes.
"You never know what call you're going to get," she said. "It's always changing."
Some of the changes have brought her face-to-face with some lifelong friends on the reserve, who thought they might get special treatment because of their relationship with the new cop in town.
"I've had to give a couple of friends impaireds and that was kind of a struggle in itself," Fabian said. "They're going to have a criminal record, but it's better that they spend a few hours in jail and going home with a fine, rather than killing somebody or themselves."
She said having the RCMP presence on the reserve has had a positive effect on the community, with people slowing down and obeying traffic signals.
"There are people who say I'm taking my job too serious, but when people's lives are in danger, I have to be very serious," she said. "It's taking some people a while to adjust and others are very happy I'm there."
Her trainer, Larry O'Brien, is helping her get her applications in for exams to become a regular member and attend the subsequent five-month training program in Regina.
While she's not looking forward to the long time away from her children, she said she can tough it out to get her papers.
In the meantime, she enjoys the excitement of the regular duties and also hopes to bring something back into the classroom, to inspire future law enforcement workers.
