The Lethbridge Police Service and Blood Tribe Police Service received a boost Friday, with four cadets sworn into each force after going through training together, alongside two community peace officers.
This is the second class where both LPS and Blood Tribe cadets trained together.
Blood Tribe Chief of Police Kyle Melting Tallow said the program is proving to be very successful, attracting more recruits thanks to the training offered closer to home.
“All the teachings that are land based are here in the region, so it really affords our officers a starting point and a context before they get in the community,” Melting Tallow said.
Lethbridge Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh believes the benefits of working together during training will continue as the officers begin careers with their respective forces.
“More and more today, police work is about collaboration and partnerships between police officers,” Mehdizadeh said.
“Criminals don’t have boundaries and neither should we.”
It seems those partnerships are already growing.
New LPS Cst. Brooklyn Peterson said six months of training created a team-building environment for the cadets.
“Something that luckily will never go away and something that we’ll always remember together, just enjoying this experience as a team,” Peterson said.
“There was no competition or anything. We were just always supporting each other.”
Mehdizadeh said policing continues to change and the new officers will be ready to adapt.
“Our new members of today are our leaders of tomorrow.”
The learning isn’t done yet for the new officers, as they will now complete field training with an assigned officer before they are allowed on their own.