Lac La Biche County and Portage College are teaming up to educate the next generation of peace officers.
The initiative, a first in Alberta, will see the town and the school working together to offer Community Peace Officer class on the Lac La Biche Campus.
The first program will be induction learning, giving successful graduates Level 1 Peace Officer training. This will allow them to conduct collision investigations, arrest and release criminal code warrants and answer non-emergency community calls such as theft or mischief under $5000.
Lac La Biche Mayor Omer Mograhbi says that the program will allow for more skilled officers in the field, with high-quality training to back them up.
The program is set to begin next spring with future opportunities slated for training existing police officers. The project will be reviewed after three years.