A couple of Mount Royal University students say they’ve enjoyed interacting with Okotoks residents this summer and gained invaluable experience working for the Town.
Jesse Karius, of Calgary, and Michael Donaven, of Carstairs, have been on the streets of Okotoks for more than three months as they complete their final practicum in the criminal justice bachelor of arts program at MRU.
“This is the only practicum offered with Mount Royal University that actually offers hands-on law enforcement,” said Donaven. “Most of the time it’s just shadowing, but we started off doing shadowing and then we got to go out on our own, and we’re actually sworn in as bylaw officers while we’re here.
“You probably can’t ask for a better practicum in our program. It’s amazing.”
Donaven said he’s learned a lot of new skills and developed a good taste for what law enforcement involves. Some things came as a surprise, he said.
“There’s a lot of paperwork,” said Donaven. “I think that’s an unknown piece of what we do, it’s not just like we’re out there on the streets all the time enforcing bylaws. Thirty to 40 per cent of our work time is probably just paperwork.”
Despite spending hours in front of a computer on some days, he said his time in Okotoks has been a great experience.
Donaven and Karius provided security for the annual parade and summer festivals where they also had the opportunity to interact with residents and show the lighter side of municipal enforcement.
“At one festival they talked me into doing that acrobatic thing so I was swinging upside down,” said Donaven. “That was pretty fun, and it gave me a cool opportunity to meet people.”
Of course it wasn’t all fun and games – there was some law enforcement that went along with the practicum. The students spent a lot of time doing foot patrols in the dog park in Drake Landing and the river valley, as well as bike patrols around town.
Their role was the educate the public on local bylaws, focusing most specifically on keeping dogs on leashes and not littering in the river valley. They were also invited into schools in the spring to educate children, and assisted with the Grade 1 bike rodeo at St. Mary’s School in June.
One incident in particular stuck out for Karius, a foot patrol in the dog park turned high-speed horse chase.
“We saw this lady riding a horse, and you can’t do that in town limits, so we had to talk to her but then she started bolting off,” said Karius.
Their bikes were outside the entrance gate to the park, so the officers-in-training took off on foot.
“Long story short we didn’t actually get her, but we can say we were in a high-speed pursuit of that horse,” said Karius with a laugh.
He said during their 300 hours of practicum time in Okotoks, they have encountered some residents who weren’t overly receptive to their messages.
It’s to be expected in law enforcement, he said.
“When you talk to people out there, you’re doing it because there’s something you have to correct them on,” said Karius. “People will naturally get their guard up a little bit, but when you start talking to them and just educate them on the bylaw it usually smooths over.”
While many were understanding, he said there were also times they received complaints for stopping people and were even given the middle finger while riding their bikes through town.
Donaven said it’s par for the course, but it was alarming the first few times.
“I think there’s definitely this image that we’re just here to ruin the good times, but that’s not the case,” he said. “We’re just here to educate and inform everyone.”
With their practicum coming to a close, neither Donaven nor Karius has decided what the next step will be. Working in law enforcement was interesting, but both said they weren’t sure it would be their career choice.
“I think I’ve got a lot of skills from this that will benefit me in any field I go into, regardless of where I go,” said Donaven. “It’s definitely an experience I’ll be happy to put on a resume and carry with me into a future career, whatever that is. Maybe law enforcement, who knows.”
Municipal enforcement manager Tim Stobbs said the Town takes on about five students per year, and he has been pleased with the level of activity Karius and Donaven carried out during their practicum.
He had no concerns sending the officers out on their own into the community, he said.
“They’ve been doing great work and getting some good experience in the public dealing with people,” said Stobbs. “It’s been a very active year and we’ve been very pleased.”
