RCMP job placement helps prepare police academy student for future
Watching how senior officers deal with a situation is giving Dustin Emberley a better understanding of what being a police officer is all about.
Emberley, a student at Holland College’s Atlantic Police Academy in Charlottetown, P.E.I., has spent the last nine weeks as a special con- stable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Corner Brook.
And the 20-year-old Massey Drive man said that understanding, combined with everything he’s learned at the academy, will help him when he starts working for a police force.
“I feel now I have that set of skills to bring towards a certain police force to help them in their job,” he said.
Becoming a police officer is something Emberley has envisioned doing for a long time.
“As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to do it,” he said. “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”
Emberley said he always looked up to police officers as a kid and wanted to be there for children like they were there for him.
When Emberley graduated from Corner Brook Regional High he joined the reserves to fill his time until he was old enough to apply to the academy.
He chose the Atlantic Police Academy because it came highly recommended as one of the best programs in the country.
The nine-month course consists of six months of in-school training, a 10-week onthe-job training placement and another two weeks in school to prepare for graduation.
Emberley said he chose the RCMP for his placement because it would give him an opportunity to complete it at home and financially that made a lot of sense.
The Corner Brook detachment covers Massey Drive, the north shore to Cox’s Cove, the south shore to Lark Harbour and the Trans-Canada Highway east to Boom Siding.
With less than 10 days to go in the placement Emberley had nothing but good things to say about the experience.
“This is where I did a lot of my learning,” said Emberley.
“You can always learn anything through a book, but it’s a lot different when you actually (have to do it),” he said.
“You never really know exactly what to do until you’re in a situation and then for me it’s kind of what you feel is right.”
And he credits his coach officer, Const. Tom Roach, with helping with that learning.
“I couldn’t have had a better coach officer than him.”
He said Roach has a lot of experience that he’s shared.
“It gives me a good idea on how I can go about my job as a police officer.”
Emberley said being new he knows he has a lot to learn and the positive criticism provided by Roach and other officers will help “shape me better as a police officer.”
During his time at the detachment he’s been involved in a wide variety of calls including everything from noise complaints to stolen dirt bikes and dealing with people under the mental health act.
One thing he said he’s enjoyed the most about the placement is “being the first on the scene.”
He said getting there and watching things unfold and how the officers deal with it is very interesting.