INUVIK - Questions about job safety were raised last week after a Fort McPherson bylaw officer was attacked while on duty.

Steven Black, 18, said the Hamlet of Fort McPherson left him hanging when they sent him out on the job without a hand-held mobile radio.

Duane DeBastien is the bylaw officer for the town of Inuvik. He carries a radio with several channels and a cell phone. He said bylaw officers should have more protection than just the ability to call for backup. - Brodie Thomas/NNSL photo

The bylaw officer's truck in the community was equipped with a built-in "channel one" radio, but Black said it was of little use to him once he was out of his truck. He said even if he had been able to get to the radio, there was probably nobody listening on the other end except truckers.

Fort McPherson mayor Bill Prodromidis said Fort McPherson RCMP would have heard his calls for help if he could have reached the truck radio.

"The RCMP does have a mobile radio and they listen all the time," said Prodromidis.

He said the community will consider making changes such as purchasing a hand-held radio.

Black's complaints point to what may be a larger problem in the territories. Bylaw officers are employed by municipal governments in the NWT to enforce community bylaws. There is no standard training or equipment for the positions. It is up to each community to ensure training and safety of their employees. The job standards vary from town to town because the needs of each community are different.

Duane DeBastien is currently Inuvik's only bylaw officer. The town is in the process of hiring another. He said there are times when he wishes he had more protection thank just a radio.

"By the time I reach for my radio, they might already have me. By the time help arrives, I could already be dead," said DeBastien. He said he would like to see bylaw officers receive training to use tasers.

Fort Good Hope, a community with a population similar to Fort McPherson, has one bylaw officer who works about eight hours a day. The shift usually begins in the late afternoon and goes until about midnight. In the summer the schedule changes to a night shift which begins around 11 p.m.

The community's acting SAO Greg Laboucan said the bylaw officer is always in contact with someone.

"She has a hand-held radio that she carries with her in and out of the vehicle and she has full contact with the band office all day. At night our SAO and myself have a radio receiver if she needs to get a hold of us. She has contact with the RCMP as well," he said.

However in Fort Simpson, a community with a much larger population than Fort Good Hope or Fort McPherson, the bylaw officer only works three days a week, mostly during weekdays. The officer is equipped with one radio in the truck and a hand-held radio as well.

"It's usually me trying to contact the bylaw officer," said Fort Simpson SAO Tom Matus.

Although he said he wasn't certain, Matus said he believed the bylaw officer could reach the RCMP with one of the two radios. Because the bylaw officer in Fort Simpson is always working during the days, there is always someone in the office to hear the call.

Sgt. Larry O'Brien said RCMP radios are generally not shared with other law enforcement officials.

"As a rule bylaw officers cannot contact us on our radios. They're not on the same band as us. Detachments can and have in the past lent them portable radios if they need to be in touch with them," said O'Brien.

In McPherson, Black said he would like to return to his job as a bylaw officer, but he will only do so if the hamlet meets his safety requirements, one of which will be to provide him with a hand-held mobile radio..