By Taylor MacPherson

Meet P.A.’s newest police officers

Dec 21, 2017 | 7:00 AM

Two new constables have joined the ranks of the Prince Albert Police Service, after graduating from Saskatchewan Police College Dec. 15.

Const. Hillary Hood, 25, came to Prince Albert from Beauval, where she grew up. Hood said she looked up to the local RCMP officers as a child, and spent five years with the Canadian Forces before setting her sights on policing. Hood completed the Aboriginal Police Preparation Program and spent a summer working with the Saskatoon Police Service before finding her new home in Prince Albert.

Hood said learning the intricacies of criminal law was the hardest part of her 20 weeks at the college, but the hands-on training was much more enjoyable.

“The fun part was rapid deployment,” Hood said, “Going into a building with potential active shooters, and you have to find them.”

Although she’s starting out as a patrol officer, Hood said she’d like to try her hand at K9 work later in her career.

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The second new constable joining the force is Michael Norrie, a 27-year-old officer who hails from Saskatoon. Norrie worked as a special constable with Prince Albert Bylaw before joining the police service, and said he’s looking forward to hitting the streets as a patrol member.

“It’s something that I’ve aspired to do for a long time,” Norrie said. “I think it’s the coolest job out there.”

Norrie said Prince Albert is a great city to live and work in, and described the city police service as “a big family.”

“I love the size of the community and I really enjoy living here,” he said. “There is nowhere else I’d rather work.”

Mastering the life of a patrol officer will be the first challenge, but Norrie said he finds gang-related policing very interesting and would like to work towards a related position. Although every police officer has their own aspirations, Norrie said his current focus is simply on helping the community.

“Just making a difference in someone’s life, if we are able to do that, would be the most enjoyable part for me,” he said.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews