IQALUIT - The sparse, wood-panelled room at the Old Residence doesn't look a lot like a courtroom.

The defence lawyer berates a peace officer for asking to check his notes during testimony. That earns her a rebuke from the judge, which shatters any notion that this is a real trial.

Community constables Dave Taylor of Cambridge Bay, left, and Louie Qingnatuq of Gjoa Haven, centre, slap the cuffs on Peter Williams of Rigolet, Labrador, during a mock trial exercise at the Old Residence in Iqaluit Thursday. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

"Those tactics might work down south, but not up here," the judge says, drawing guffaws from the audience. "You B.C. lawyers are all the same."

The judge is Sandro Parillo, a trainer from the RCMP academy in Regina. The defence lawyer is played by Marion Craig, an RCMP trainer based in Chilliwack, BC.

The mock trial is part of a two-week community constable training course that wrapped up in Iqaluit Friday.

Community constables serve as a liaison between hamlets and local RCMP detachments and help newly-posted Mounties learn their communities, said Cpl. Randy Slawson.

"They provide instant local knowledge for members who come to the communities until they are really familiar with the communities," he said. "If you don't know the community you're basically lost."

Community constables are peace officers, but they have powers of arrest the same as a civilian. They can only arrest a suspect if they discover a crime in progress.

Despite that, Slawson said community constables play a wide variety of roles, from helping police secure crime scenes to giving anti-bullying workshops at schools.

This two-week session was attended mostly by constables from across Nunavut, with a handful from Yellowknife and Labrador.

"This course is to help me do my job better," said Markoosie Etidloi, who has served as a community constable for seven years in Cape Dorset. "For these guys who have never done this before it will help them."

Of the courtroom training Etidloi said it's useful to have a chance to simulate being on the witness stand when the guilt or innocence of the accused doesn't hang in the balance. And with the gruff, wise-cracking Parillo on the bench, laughter breaks out often in this courtroom, though his honour did tell a reporter to spit out his gum, just like in a real courtroom.

"I always have a ball at these things," Etidloi said.

Dave Taylor, who has been serving as a community constable in Cambridge Bay, said the training also gives community constables a chance to talk shop.

"You get advice and tips from others," he said. "It's been a great two weeks."