Six volunteers sworn in

By Sarah Deeth
Local News - Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 07:00

The Timmins Police Service welcomed six new volunteer recruits Thursday afternoon.

Darryl Bender, Glen Simpson, Tibor Lesko and George Jasmin are the first four auxiliary constables to join the force.

Marcel Rondeau and Robert Ferri were sworn in as special constables.

The six attended a special graduation ceremony at the Timmins Public Library and were sworn in by Justice of the Peace Marielle Quinn as friends, family members and officials from the Timmins Police Service looked on.

The four auxiliary constables are the first of their kind with their service, deputy Police Chief Dez Walsh said.


“Part of our vision is participation within the community,” Walsh said. “We look at volunteer officers as a component of that.”

The four men went through 26 hours of training and an extensive selection process.

Walsh said the same process is applied to constables hired onto the force as full-time officers.

The Police Services Act allows the Chief of Police to recognize auxiliary officers as full officers during times of crisis or need.

Therefore, Walsh said, it’s important that the four new officers have similar training and are as reliable as the regular police force.

“They have to volunteer for a minimum of 24 hours a month to keep their auxiliary status,” Walsh said. “They need to get a feel for the job.”

Auxiliary officers are under the direction of a full-time officer at all times, Walsh said.

Darryl Bender said he became an auxiliary officer to give back to the community.

“I’ve been involved with things before, but this is something a little different,” Bender said.

The four auxiliary constables will assist full-time officers in things such as crowd control and attend ride-alongs with other officers.

The two special constables will aid in prisoner transports and court security as part of their duties with the Timmins Police Service.

The Police Service can have up to 10 per cent of its force made up of auxiliary officers.

Source

Ottawa Men's Centre

613-797-3237 (613-797-DADS)