LAC LA BICHE - If you build it, they will come ... and when more and more follow, you might need to build it bigger.
The peace officer training programs hosted in Lac La Biche County is drawing more interest from a wider range of clients than the current model can fit. The program's popularity has municipal leaders exploring a significant expansion to the program and the training facilities in the community.
Councillors have voted unanimously to create a report comparing the costs of expansion to the potential revenues and economic benefits it would bring to the community.
Right now, says the training program's coordinator, the classes are over-subscribed and the outlook calls for even more interest.
"We are at capacity in our building," says Lac La Biche County's manager of Enforcement Services Chris Clark, who is also one of the certified instructors at Lac La Biche County's Law Enforcement Training Program. "We are booked solid."
The program began three years ago, as a first-of-its-kind partnership with Portage College and the Alberta Solicitor General, offering specific training courses to existing peace officers along with an 11-week program that graduates fully-trained community peace officers. In-class training sessions have been held in Lac La Biche County's Protective Services Building on Beaver Hill Road and in classrooms at the Portage College campus. The program began initially as a training option only for community peace officers — but in recent months, the intake has expanded. Since the beginning of the year, the local program has been offering training modules to community peace officers and provincial Conservation Officers from across Alberta, as well as Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers from across Western Canada and the Yukon.
Classrooms in the municipal building and at Portage College have been so busy that some of the recent Fish and Wildlife officer training had to be moved to the college's 250-seat McGrane Theatre, said Clark.
Last year, a total of 350 people took training sessions through the Lac La Biche County program.
"This year, we will surpass that," said Clark, explaining that several Alberta communities are looking to the Lac La Biche training centre to graduate peace officers as a "feeder program" as they transition to municipal police forces. Other opportunities are coming from recent decisions by provincial officials to train and hire more peace officers and existing enforcement personnel across the province.
The Lac La Biche County training also includes emergency vehicle driving courses, self-defence and combat training, as well as some firearms training.
"We wouldn't have government agencies coming to Lac La Biche if it wasn't needed... so obviously there is a need for strong partnerships between the County and the Province to pave the way and figure out what the future of law enforcement training looks like," said Clark.
Training funds
With municipalities and provincial government departments paying for the training, Lac La Biche County officials also see the program as a revenue source. If the program's size is increased, they expect revenues to follow. Adding municipal funds to expand the program, upgrade facilities, hire more resources and offer improved locations for practical training would have to be balanced against the expected revenue boost, says Lac La Biche County councillor Sterling Johnson.
But he's pretty sure it's worth it.
"I know that our training program generates some revenue for us, and there's not many things that the County can do to increase its tax-base — and here is one that is staring us right in the face," he said, quickly factoring the increased number of people taking the training course with the economic spin-off. "It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize how many hotel room nights that will be, or meals in the community, or how many times they bring their families to camp in the area. This is such a win-win, and we need to capitalize on it."
The report on the training program and projected financial factors is expected to be back at the Lac La Biche County council table in the coming weeks.
