The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) welcomed three new members into the force with a swearing-in Oath of Office ceremony held on Jan. 6.
Judge Brian Hendrickson oversaw and witnessed the oath of office, code of ethics and oath of secrecy administered to the new recruits.
The new recruits are Kiana Perron, Devon Gosling and Jesse Ludwar.
“This is always an important day, not only for us at the police service, not only our new police officers but also for our community as a whole,” Police Chief Rick Bourassa said.
He says the police service has an extensive selection process, which starts with a large number of individuals and eventually works its way down to the final few.
“What always comes through is character and integrity,” he said. “We are not too worried about the skills, since we will build the skills which will eventually develop and that’s the easy part. We are looking for people that embody our virtues, values and principles.”
Bourassa has high hopes for these three new members and is confident they will fit into their roles within the community right away. Their experience will come from doing their job as police officers, while their training in the field will help them excel in their careers.
“It was an amazing experience. They gave us a lot of opportunities. I made a lot of friends that I will carry [with me] for a very long time,” Police College graduate Kiana Perron said.
She has spent four months or 20 weeks in Regina and finished Police College with the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol. Perron said her training helped her develop a sense of confidence, which she believes helped to expose her weaknesses at the same time as developing her strengths.
She also says she has been watching the development and addition of new units to the Moose Jaw Police force and thought “the Moose Jaw Police service is very progressive.”
Perron is the third generation of her family to join the police service.
Another new recruit to the police service, Devon Gosling, said, “I have a young family so this opportunity popped up and I took it. So yeah, in particular, this excites me about this job.”
Gosling said he was originally from the area, but decided to move back to the community after working in the oil industry for 17 years.
“It’s always been in the back of my head to come back,” he said. Because Gosling likes challenges, he feels the career as a police officer will fit his personality well.
Third recruit, Jesse Ludwar said he grew up in Moose Jaw and always wanted to become a police officer. He graduated school from Lethbridge and high school from A.E. Peacock where he developed his sense of criminal justice and his passion for becoming a police officer.
He says he has a family member who was an RCMP officer, and that was his inspiration.
“I was always fascinated, and every police officer was a role model to me,” Ludwar said.
He also said he is open to exploring his options in the police department and gaining as much experience as possible to focus on his career.
Perron has already completed her training and Ludwar and Gosling will be attending Saskatchewan Police College beginning Monday.
The oath-swearing ceremony concluded with all three new members taking their vows of office, with family members present to celebrate their accomplishments.
