N.B. RCMP take a hands-on approach to welcoming new recruits

Twenty-one-year-old Stephanie Trites has her sites set on one major goal when it comes to her career, becoming a member of the RCMP.

“When I was younger, I had a lot of RCMP influences growing up, so I was very interested in the idea. And me, as a person, I always wanted to help people, so with that it’s a way that I can help people, but also keep my active lifestyle and it does support my French culture as well,” she explained.

Right now, she’s about eight months into the application process, and Monday afternoon brought her another step closer to her goal.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police hosted a Workout with a Recruiter PARE workshop to give interested candidates and curious civilians a glimpse into what it takes physically in order to join the force.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to ask questions about what the requirements are, and have a glimpse of what the field tests of our exercise and the type of regiment that they could see at the academy in Regina,” said Supt. Benoit Jolette with the Codiac Regional RCMP in Moncton.

He says right now there is a new field test for officers replacing the old PARE test, and the afternoon workout workshops can help people prepare.

“Our new field test is reflective of the duties that a police officer could be doing in the field, so there’s some running, there’s some lifting and there’s all sorts of cardio-type of exercises just to sort of basically have a simulation of real life exercises,” he said.

Monday afternoon, nearly 50 interested New Brunswickers signed up for the workshop at the YMCA. It was divided into three different stations focused on strength, cardio or a combination of both.

“It really tests your physical strength and your endurance, and I really like it,” said Devam Joshi, who participated.

“It’s worth it. Everyone should try it.”

Joshi says he originally signed up because he saw the event on social media and has an interest in working with the RCMP in the future.

“There are no recent openings with the RCMP, so I think this gives me an introduction of what it’s like to work with RCMP and what the process to get into the RCMP, so if there are any future openings, I will definitely apply,” he said.

Adding, “I did really good. Out of a 10 I would rate my physical capability a 7-to-8.”

This is the fifth Workout with a Recruiter event that has taken place in New Brunswick and the second in Moncton.

“I really wanted more professional experience of the training going on because you can only do so much at the gym and from watching the videos online, so I really wanted to make sure that I’m really in the mindset and I know what I’m going into,” said Trites.

“It definitely gave me some insight and, I mean, I haven’t been doing too bad, but there’s definitely some things I can start practicing on my own now, so that’s helpful.”

Supt. Jolette says so far they have been very successful and have had high attendance rates.

“We might only have one applicant out of everyone who’s here, but if just that one person applies then that completely validates us being here today,” he said.

Earlier this year, a new initiative was announced to help new applicants come back to New Brunswick following their six-month depot training.

Supt. Jolette says since the new Pre-Posting Agreement was announced, there’s been a lot of people interested in policing and they want to foster that interest.

“We are competing with pretty much any private sector business at this point, so we are putting a huge emphasis on our local recruiting, because we want to leverage that pre-posting agreement,” he said.

“We want New Brunswickers that have an interest in serving their community, to potentially join the RCMP and come back in New Brunswick to serve their province.”

The new agreement is also something that grabbed Joshi’s attention as he plans for his future.

“I love New Brunswick and I’d like to work within the area that I am in,” he said.

“I’m ready to relocate, but if I’m getting the chance to work in New Brunswick it’s definitely a go for me.” 

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