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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife's RCMP hosted a special guest last week when Sr. Sgt. Graeme Reeves from the Queensland Police Service arrived to study their fly-in, fly-out policies.

Reeves received a scholarship from The Courier Mail - Brisbane's daily newspaper - to study and research Canadian models in providing police services to remote communities.

His goal was to determine the logistics required to run a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) service, what incentives or entitlements are used to attract police to serve in a FIFO unit, what issues detract police members from serving in a FIFO unit, and to identify existing gaps in capacity and future capability for service delivery.

The Australian police officer came to Yellowknife on Aug. 4 and toured the communities of Gameti and Lutsel K'e. Sachs Harbour was also on the agenda, but poor weather prevented the senior sergeant from landing.

"The RCMP's reputation is being a leading police service on international standards, and my trip here has reinforced this perspective," Reeves stated in a news release. "I have gained a lot of valuable information that I will be able to pass on to the Queensland Police Service in relation to the benefits of a mobile service using a variety of aircraft."

Reeves' host for the week-long visit was NWT Staff Sgt. Colin White, who helped show him around Yellowknife and the other NWT communities. White found out a few things along the way, too.

"I learned that some of their challenges of getting police officers to serve in remote communities are a little bit different than ours," White said. "Some of the costs they have for housing, especially in mining communities, is really through the roof. They are having problems getting police officers to go to those communities because they simply can't afford to pay the rent."

White said he's thankful that problem isn't as prominent in Canada, since young recruits are generally willing to take up remote postings.

"The young police officers (in Australia) that join would rather live and work (in major centres), than go and work in a remote community, so that's a challenge they are having ... whereas, we don't seem to have that problem here," White said.

Reeves left the city on Saturday and has returned to his post in Queensland. He is to prepare a proposal based on what he witnessed and submit it to the police service there.

"I was really impressed with how the community really cares for their environment, and Yellowknife is a very clean and friendly place to be," Reeves stated.

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