Colleen

What do you find rewarding about your job?

You meet some great people. I’ve met a lot of friends. My co-worker Michelle and I are great friends. Having a good friend at work helps to brighten your day.

It’s also a nice feeling when somebody calls and wants to thank the police for doing what they do, or drop off donuts, or go out of their way to make us feel appreciated.

What does a typical day look like for a DSA?

There’s always something a little bit different every day.

On a good day it’s quiet… But that never really happens. There are some days where it’s pretty crazy. We do criminal record checks, phone calls, dispatching. We do a lot of paperwork! I’ve been doing court work for 15 years.

We are the first point of contact for the public. We answer the phone; assist in-person visitors.

We try to assist the police officers as best we can to make their job easier too, so that they’re not dealing with small tasks that we can handle at our level. We do a lot for them just to make their job easier. I think without the DSAs, it would not be good; they would be struggling.

What do you like about working for the RCMP?

The RCMP is a good organization and I’m proud to work for it. My dad was an RCMP officer, and I’ve always been proud of my dad. Also, my partner is here, and I am very proud of him too.

I also am proud to be part of a great organization. DSAs do a lot for the RCMP, we contribute a lot, and I am proud of what we do. We are able to help people. Often, when people call, they’re not in the best mind set, they are upset or scared or something negative has happened. The satisfaction of knowing that you can help somebody on the other end of the phone; it’s gratifying.

How often are the calls to the detachment less about policing and more about community support?

Very often. Today, I had somebody that got a ticket, and she wanted to know how to pay for it. So, we help them by giving them instructions to follow. A lot of people will get scammed, we try to help them, give them numbers to call. We’ve had people that have had carrots stolen from their garden.

It varies from stolen carrots to the worst possible thing. It’s always surprising some days. What’s going to come next?

We never ever would say, “Call somebody else. We can’t help you. Click.” Never. We always try to do what we can for them.

I’ve been here forever—I’ve lived in the community for 35 years, so people often turn to me. I’ll get calls or text messages from people asking for advice. They reach out to me, or stop me on the street and ask things like, “How do I get a criminal record check?”