The Grande Prairie Police Service is continuing its efforts to localize its programming with plans to receive authorization from the province to conduct physical testing in the city.
The GPPS held a demonstration of what applicants can expect on the physical test, and GPPS Superintendent Greg Redl says the agency is now one step closer to becoming a standalone police service.
“It’s another step particularly in becoming our own standalone police service, being able to handle our entire recruiting process from start to finish locally, which is one of the goals of having the Grande Prairie police service,” he says. “Having a lot more local content, local involvement, local control.”
Currently, The Alberta Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police Officers is only offered in a few locations throughout the province in cities like Calgary and Edmonton, which means if approved, an A-PREP offering in the city would make Grande Prairie the northernmost location for potential officers to take the test.
“There are only so many places in the province that are authorized to offer this physical evaluation that’s mandatory, provincial standard for all the municipal police agencies,” Redl says. “Just a few more steps from now and we’ll be offering this here.”
Redl adds that alongside the cognitive APCAT testing and additional screening procedures, physical testing is “very important” for new applicants, and encourages healthy habits for officers throughout their career.
“Generally we recognize that our police recruits, as they go through their class are probably in the best shape that they’re going to be of their entire lives at that point,” he says. “We want to make sure we have a really good foundation there to try and encourage healthy habits, we use the term fit for duty, fit for life.”
Additionally, Redl says experienced police officers arriving in the spring will also be subject to running the physical test and the program will be offered annually to encourage a high level of fitness among GPPS officers; however, the program is only mandatory at the beginning of an applicant’s career.