Make The Most of Your Relief Duty

Constable Duane Noel of “B” Division has heard and read many stories about the Canadian North. When the opportunity for a Relief Duty in Nunavut arose, he could not pass it up.

“I just knew I had to embrace this as a unique experience and make the best of the Relief Duty,” says Cst. Noel.

Relief Supervisor Anthony Pampeo from “V” Division advised Cst. Noel that he would be going to Repulse Bay, a small Hamlet right on the Arctic Circle. In conversations with other members, Cst. Noel learnt that Repulse Bay was a quiet, pro-police community where he would not be overly taxed with calls of any sort. It was then that this D.A.R.E. Officer and Mentor decided to contact Tusarvik School to inquire whether the local students had ever completed the D.A.R.E. Program. Tusarvik’s principal told Cst. Noel that the she last hosted the D.A.R.E. program a few of years ago and was unsure if would happen again. Cst. Noel seized the moment, and asked the principal to set aside time so that he could complete the D.A.R.E. Program during his Relief Duty.

“All I had to do was call David Lawson from “V” Division’s Drug Awareness unit to have all of the materials sent to the detachment and the stage was set,” says Cst. Noel. “Over the following weeks, I attended the school every morning from 10:00 a.m. to noon to teach D.A.R.E. programme to both Grade 5 and Grade 6 classes. It had to be one of the most rewarding D.A.R.E. Graduations I have ever held. The students appreciated every moment I spent with them. It was great to hear them around town telling their parents and friends, ‘that’s Cst. Duane!’” Cst. Duane is enthusiastic about encouraging other D.A.R.E. officers to follow his initiative. “My advice to any D.A.R.E. officer going north on a Relief Duty is this: take the time to make a couple of phone calls and you may be able to have one of the most rewarding experiences you could ever have as a D.A.R.E. trained officer.”