Yellowknife (May 10/06) - Angela Norris is perhaps one of the last people you might expect to be patrolling Yellowknife's sometimes seedy streets, with their population of drug dealers and angry drunks.

Darrell Portz and Angela Norris are the newest volunteer members of the Yellowknife RCMP detachment. - Andrew Raven/NNSL photo

But the 39-year-old mother and federal government bureaucrat is looking forward to doing just that as a volunteer member of the Yellowknife RCMP.

"I've always felt really strongly about giving back," Norris said Friday after being sworn-in as an auxiliary constable during a ceremony at the downtown RCMP detachment.

Norris joined Darrell Portz as the newest members of the 11-person-strong volunteer Mountie force that works and trains under the regular officers. While auxiliaries wear uniforms and carry handcuffs, they are not supposed to investigate crimes or get into the line of fire.

But one of their main duties is patrolling the streets in tandem with full Mounties -- a task that has had deadly consequences. In 2004, an auxiliary officer from Vernon B.C., was killed when his cruiser was rammed by a stolen pickup truck.

"The fact is, every time you step onto the street, something could occur," said RCMP Superintendent Pat McCloskey, head of policing in the Northwest Territories.

The auxiliaries undergo training and the Mounties have guidelines to ensure their safety, but ultimately, McCloskey said, "you can't safeguard against everything."

Despite the risks, Portz -- who spent 10 years as a military police officer -- is looking forward to the challenge.

"I don't think the dangers outweigh the benefits," said the 39-year-old Portz, now an insurance adjuster. "As a member of the public, I have a duty to give back to the city."

The work the auxiliaries do is invaluable, said McCloskey, after swearing in Norris and Portz.