Five new police officers are getting set to being patrolling the streets of New Westminster.
Constables Chadha, Molnar, Roshanravan, Shaw and Stander were sworn in during a ceremony on Sept. 7. Their first names aren’t being shared with the public at this time, as it’s not yet known whether their policing career may involve undercover work.
“We have three males, two females being hired. They are very diverse background,” said NWPD spokesperson Sgt. Sanjay Kumar, who is in charge of recruitment. “They all bring different things with them. They all bring in different aspects that I think will be beneficial to our agency.”
Kumar said the new recruits come from a variety of backgrounds, including one who worked at the U.S. consulate in Vancouver and another who worked for the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Another was a fitness trainer who has a law degree.
“This group of new recruits is exactly what the New Westminster Police Department needs right now,” said Chief Const. Dave Jansen in a statement to the Record. “In terms of staffing, some senior members of our department are retiring soon, plus we’ve seen some movement of officers throughout the Lower Mainland with the creation of the new Surrey Police Service. Additionally, current NWPD officers take advantage of the opportunity to work on integrated municipal teams, and this has left us with a few vacancies. We will be hiring a few more people in the near future, so if you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a police officer, now is a good time to apply.”
After being sworn in as members of the NWPD on Sept. 7, the recruits spent a week of in-house orientation at the police station. On Sept. 13 (today), they head to the Police Academy at the Justice Institute of B.C. for 12 to 14 weeks of training.
“Then they come back to our police department and they get lined up with a field trainer,” Kumar explained. “They spend a good number of months with their field trainers learning everything that they learned at the academy, but just with a more hands-on approach – talking to people, taking files, writing reports to Crown counsel, learning the ins and outs, solidifying everything they have learned on paper in the practical sense. They ride with a field trainer their entire duration of Block 2. They are never on their own, just because it’s the training stage.”
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Email tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
