Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Feb 20/02) - The Rankin Inlet detachment of the RCMP is looking for a few good people.

The detachment wants to hear from individuals interested in volunteering for the RCMP auxiliary constable program. The program starts this coming summer.

Prospective candidates should be a Canadian citizen of good character, possess a valid driver's licence and have a Grade 12 diploma or equivalent work-related experience.

Candidates must be able to meet a minimum fitness standard and a reliability clearance required by the RCMP.

They must also be willing to devote 160 hours of service a year and not have a business or employment conflict of interest with the position.

Const. Mario Vachon says the Rankin detachment is looking at the project as having the potential to be a type of feeder program for the local force and a way to get more Inuit actively involved with RCMP staffing.

He says the detachment is looking to find people who know their community well and can assist the RCMP in being a link between regular members and the community at large.

"It's always good to have as many people as we can," says Const. Vachon.

"This program often works quite well because the participants gain real work experience in a variety of different programs."

Those selected can expect to take part in crime-prevention programs, guard crime scenes and perform office duties.

They will also take part in general duty, traffic patrols and other routine duties as assigned by the detachment commander.

Auxiliary constables do not, however, carry a firearm.

Vachon says those selected will attend calls with regular members, although they may not, necessarily, enter homes.

Although it's true auxiliary constables help regular members overcome the language barrier, he says there's much more to their contributions.

"There's also the cultural aspect in understanding the people we serve better. We have to adapt according to the culture we're facing and having local people on the force helps us to do that effectively."