SUNDRE — Becoming a Mountie was not always what the local RCMP detachment’s newest member had in mind for his future.
But a personal experience with a police officer that left him with a positive impression motivated him to change course and pursue a new career path.
Const. Calvin Wells, who recently started his second post after transferring to Sundre following his first, four-year position in Shelburne, N.S., originally wanted to become an educator in kinesiology.
However, a fateful car crash during his days studying at the University of Wilfrid Laurier ended up changing everything. The calm, collected and professional conduct of a responding Ontario Provincial Police officer who handled the scene prompted Wells to reconsider his plans.
“I’ve always really loved interacting with the public — I’ve always been a social guy,” he told the Albertan during a phone interview.
“But seeing the way he handled the situation, how he was able to calm down the other individual in the accident, the way he just controlled the scene and was just so approachable” set an example Wells decided to emulate.
“The follow-up really made me kind of take a step back and think about what a police officer’s role is besides what you see on the media and the TV."
Inspired by that life-altering experience, Wells got his first job in a maximum security correctional institution in London, Ont., where he’s originally from. After about three years into that position, he was called upon to train for the RCMP at Depot.
After graduating, he spent his first four years with the RCMP in the small Nova Scotia town, where he relished the opportunity to build a rapport with residents through developing relationships, along the way doing what he could to dispel the notions some members of the public might have with regards to being reluctant to approach or call the police.
“It’s OK if they are a little bit apprehensive,” he said. “I could be driving down the road and if I see lights in my rearview pulling me over, I’m not going to feel great. It’s a very human nature to feel uncertain about authority — I understand that.”
That’s why being able to have friendly conversations with people is so important, he said.
“It’s just all about having a positive interaction,” he said. “People always remember how they feel — they don’t really necessarily remember details, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel. I’m the same way. So, I just try to keep that front and centre as much as possible.”
Although still relatively new to the service, Wells expressed no regrets and spoke enthusiastically about his line of work.
“I really enjoyed policing in a small community,” he said, adding sharing laughs with people and fostering good relationships help lift barriers between police and public.
“It was very nice to have that kind of sense of belonging to the community — it made the job much more enjoyable that way.”
Community interactions included connecting with and getting to know people from local leaders like the mayor and council to educators and students at the high school.
Wells also expressed a fondness for the camaraderie among fellow officers at the detachment, who all brought to the table their own strengths and skillsets that would come in handy when responding to a variety of concerns and issues from the public.
Currently exploring an interest in specializing with the Police Dog Service unit, Wells said the canine program has become his long-term goal.
“I’ve done work with them for over a year now,” he said, adding he’ll later this month be getting involved in a course to start learning about raising police dogs.
“I really enjoy doing that volunteer work,” he said, adding the position at this early stage is not paid.
“You give up a lot of your time off to go help essentially train with the other dog handlers and help them develop their dogs,” he said, adding that might mean getting chomped at, running track, and helping any way possible to further hone and fine-tune a canine regardless of its profile.
But as the adage goes, one who pursues a path they’re passionate about, never really works a day, he said.
Reaching a full-time position with Police Dog Service can take anywhere from eight to 10 years, he said.
“They do lots of training. PDS is probably the longest road of any specialized position the RCMP carries,” he said, adding dogs serve in a variety of roles ranging from helping officers to track down and apprehend suspects, sniff out controlled substances, and even detect bombs or trace elements that can be used to create explosive devices.
“I really enjoy doing the training with the dogs," he said.
Yet overall, there’s no single, specific aspect of police he prefers most.
“Probably my favourite, is actually just being able to feel approachable,” he said. “At the end of the day, our job is to make sure that the public are happy and feel safe and secure and have a resource to go to."
The constable plans to draw from his experience in Nova Scotia, where he learned to identify what the community’s expectations are, and how to develop strategies to remedy or at least alleviate people’s concerns.
“I really just enjoy interacting with people — that’s been the main drive of the job all along,” he said.
While he hasn’t been posted in Sundre very long, his time in the community so far has been positive.
“It’s different (than Shelburne) but the same in a lot of ways,” he said, referring to the small town, tight-knit community atmosphere.
Getting started on night shifts, Wells said he looks forward to some day shifts that will provide more of an opportunity to get around town and introduce himself to the community some more.
He welcomes anyone who might be interested to come up and say Hi or even ask questions about the job and recruiting process.
He also praised his new colleagues and said the department’s morale runs high with a good group of motivated individuals who are welcoming and friendly.
Although spare time isn’t exactly abundant, he plans to spend his free hours exploring some of the local hiking trails and getting involved in recreational sports leagues like softball.
The oldest of four boys, he is the first to don a uniform.
“I’m the only law enforcement member in my family,” he said, adding his parents set an example of community engagement.
“My family was always very heavily involved in the community. If anyone needs a hand, no task is too big or too small.”
Given the chance, Wells said he’d gladly oblige for example a senior resident who might need a hand moving an old couch to the sidewalk for the community cleanup.
“I’ve done weirder jobs as a police officer,” he said, with a chuckle. “I just want people to feel comfortable asking for it.”
