Jasper RCMP is looking for prison guards, so officers don鈥檛 have to think twice about incarcerating a person who鈥檚 up to no good.
鈥淗aving guards that we can rely on to come in, makes us more effective,鈥� Cpl. Ryan Gardiner told council July 16. 鈥淚f the guys know at the start of their shift that so and so called in and said they鈥檙e available to guard tonight, it leaves no question in their mind when...they go to arrest somebody or they see somebody that probably should be lodged to prevent other offences from happening, they don鈥檛 have to second guess it.鈥�
Prison guards are paid, but they aren鈥檛 on call, so there is no guarantee that one will be available when they鈥檙e needed, said Gardiner, noting that although the RCMP has a list of guards, that list is quickly dwindling.
The trouble with that is when officers come across a person who is 鈥渄runk beyond belief, staggering around鈥� hooting and hollering down residential streets, they have few options.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have a guard, we either end up releasing them or finding some other option鈥攎aybe their friends can look after them鈥攐r I call in another member,鈥� said Gardiner.
If another member is called in, that means they鈥檙e working overtime, which hits the budget and the member鈥檚 rest time.
So far this year, 138 prisoners have been held in Jasper, which is up from last year when there were 160 prisoners over the course of the entire year.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 strictly from an enforcement standpoint. That鈥檚 the way I like to see things done,鈥� said Gardiner, who took over from Sgt. Dave Maludzinski, who is off on medical leave. 鈥淚 tell my guys, 鈥榠f people are misbehaving down at the bars, if you leave those people to wander off down into the residential area and they鈥檙e already hooting and hollering, they鈥檙e going to be hooting and hollering down there, too, so let鈥檚 get to those people, deal with them and if they need to be lodged, let鈥檚 lodge them.鈥� 鈥�
That鈥檚 important because otherwise an officer could find themselves dealing with the same person two or three times over the course of an evening.
The prisoners who have been held are generally being apprehended for disorderly conduct or public intoxication.
鈥淎 lot of what we deal with in Jasper is alcohol related offences and they鈥檙e perpetrated by people from outside of Jasper,鈥� said Gardiner. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the Jasper locals that live here and work here that we鈥檙e dealing with the majority of the time. Certainly there鈥檚 the odd time that we do, and I say the odd time because it pretty much is.鈥�
To put your name on the guard list, visit the RCMP detachment on Bonhomme Street, sign up and get a security clearance.
聽Nicole Veerman
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