Grande Prairie Police Service: Fourth experienced officer class get their assignments

Four more experienced officers have joined the ranks of Grande Prairie Police Service and a June 27 ceremony with city officials, peers and family members helped mark the occasion.

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The four members come from other services that include Calgary Police Service, Lacombe Police Service, Lakeshore Regional Police Service, and Sainte-Anne Police Service in Manitoba. Their prior training, experience and areas of expertise help solidify the services’ expertise in areas such as training, tactical response and community policing.

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Together, they bring a wealth of expertise in areas such as training, tactical operations, and community policing.

“Each graduation ceremony marks more than just the end of a training program; they are milestones in our journey to build a police service that is uniquely tailored to Grande Prairie,” said Chief Dwayne Lakusta.

Experienced officers are an integral part of the plan. They bring years of experience from other services, in other areas and can build on those proficiencies in a new service.

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“With every experienced officer and recruit that joins our ranks, we grow stronger, more connected, and better prepared to serve our city.”

After the controversial decision was made in 2022 to move ahead with a municipal police force, a police chief and a team of experienced officers were hired to develop training and build a new service. From their first experienced officer course until now, GPPS has trained and sworn in 40 officers.

Grande Prairie’s mayor, Jackie Clayton, is proud of the work the newly minted service has accomplished. She told the group they’re blazing a new trail and already having an impact in the community.

“We’re thankful for this latest round of graduates, who are going to continue to build the GPPS visibility, strengthen our community safety, and support the successful transition to a municipal police model.”

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The experienced officer program lasts about five weeks. It covers traditional policing topics such as the police act, use of force protocols, immediate action and rapid deployment. It’s also been developed to focus on local context. Trauma-informed practices, indigenous teachings, mental health first aid and unconscious bias round out five weeks of training designed to equip officers with essential knowledge and local context.

When building the training, the GPPS team began to partner with other local agencies, experts in their fields to provide training. They developed relationships with other groups and institutions to provide space for training and learning, such as Eastlink Centre and Northwest Polytechnic.

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Three of the newest officers are already assigned to work out of the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment. Two will be on patrol, and one will work in a special investigations unit. There are now 17 GPPS officers, including an inspector overseeing the patrol and investigations branch working out of the detachment. The fourth officer is joining the GPPS training team.

GPPS is also pleased to report strong progress from its second recruit class, comprised of 14 new recruits who are on track to graduate on September 12, 2025. They will bring the total number of sworn GPPS members to 50. Selection is currently underway for a third recruit class scheduled to begin later this year, as well as recruitment for the fifth intake of the Experience Officer Program.

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“We’re extremely proud to have this high calibre of Experienced Officers join the team at GPPS and become mentors to our officers and all future recruits,” said Grande Prairie Police Commission chair, Dan Wong.

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