With the help of scenario actors, cadets from across Canada experience hands-on training for dealing with crisis situations involving people with mental illness.
RCMP held a Cadet Training Program session in Regina on Friday, where problem-solving and risk management were two skills put to the test.
“The goal, of course, is that by working through it to the best of their abilities with the skills they’ve learned here, we’re essentially priming them to recognize these types of situations in the future,” said RCMP training co-ordinator Sgt. Ron Kneckt.
He said it wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of scenario actors.
“They are key to the effectiveness and the quality of this training situation,” Kneckt said. “Without them here, we can’t actually provide that same type of quality scenario practice.”
After a successful career as a teacher, scenario actor Wendy Watson began her second act with the RCMP eight years ago.
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“I have learned so much about why they do what they do when they do it and how they do it, and it’s been really a great learning experience for me too,” Watson said.
Cadet Yannick Roy said he chose his line of work so he could be more involved in the community and have a positive impact on the people within it. He says the training scenarios help prepare him to do that.
“You can’t really connect with the people that you help without being out in the field,” Roy said. “This allows me to see how I think and how I react to situations and from there I can learn a bit about myself and how I deal with these situations.”
The training included two live scenarios involving an actor portraying a person with mental health issues in a high-stress situation.
“The person I’m portraying has paranoia and thinks the government is watching her and has bugged her apartment and stuff,” Watson said.
Ultimately, Kneckt said it’s about preparing the cadets as best as possible for when they eventually become RCMP officers.
“This is about verbal intervention mostly, and also recognizing various things the actors are saying and doing because those types of observations are important when making decisions,” Kneckt said.
RCMP will assess the cadets’ decisions and provide further feedback.
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