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Police officers should get our support and thanks

Weyburn This Week editorial

There can be no doubt that being a police officer is one of the most necessary services provided to a community, but at the same time, it’s one of the most thankless and stressful jobs one can have.

The men and women who wear the uniform have sworn to uphold the law and to serve and protect the citizens of their community or region. In the case of the Weyburn Police Service, the people of this city, and in the case of the RCMP, basically all Canadians, but specifically those in their detachment area.

These people take the training, and are provided with many tools for their job, including firearms, cuffs, taser, flashlight and so on — but the fact is, they are putting their lives on the line every time they suit up and go on duty.

Being a police officer can be at times not only very stressful, but very dangerous as unpredictable situations can arise suddenly, or events beyond their control can interfere with the performance of their duties. And sometimes, it’s unpredictable people who can bring the element of danger, if they are impaired by a drug or alcohol, or have criminal intent, fuelled at times by drugs and/or alcohol.

So, why exactly would anyone want to take this kind of a position on, putting one’s self into a dangerous situation?

The answer is, they have determined to serve the public, and to protect the innocent and the vulnerable, as well as to provide help to people who need it.

Sometimes a person or family is put into the worst situation of their lives, such as being a victim of a crime, or being involved in a horrific fire or vehicle collision, and they need help.

And sometimes a person is driven by desperation or greed (or by other factors we can only imagine) to commit a crime, and police officers have the responsibility to investigate and solve the crime, and bring those perpetrators in to be dealt with in court.

There are times when the police have to pull over an erratic driver and investigate for impairment before that person hurts or kills an innocent driver or family, causing devastation and death.

As citizens of the community, we can be thankful that we don’t have to be the ones to put up with the stress and abuse and bad attitudes that a police officer puts up with on a daily basis — but more importantly, we need to simply be thankful for what these men and women do for us. We should also add our voice of support and thanks when officers are recognized for the good work that they do. Recently, Const. Melinda Mintenko received a national award for the “Ride’s On Us” program, and constables Jeff Bartsch, Jake Sonnenberg and Kalin Wiebe received the inaugural Van de Vorst Family Award for their good work. Thank you, and thank you to all those in uniform.