The EPS is celebrating ten years of its pillar recruitment program, Run with Recruiters (RWR). In the Spring of 2012, the program began with two EPS Recruiting officers exercising in the river valley. Having heard of the workouts, two MacEwan students asked to join the officers for a run. Joshua Hiebert, is one of the students who took part in the run. Today, he is entering his seventh year of service as an EPS officer, currently serving in the Tactical Unit.

“The runs were physically challenging. The RWR program gave me the desire to better myself physically & mentally. I was able to talk about various aspects of the job that I was either too nervous or time constrained to ask in other settings. I didn’t know any police officers personally, and the EPS recruiter was the first officer I could have an honest conversation with.
I don’t know where else I could have had the same opportunity to interact with Police” said Constable Joshua Hiebert.

In 2022, the EPS recruitment program has grown to facilitate hundreds of RWR events, attended by over five thousand participants since 2012. Since 2020, the service has hired over 160 of those individuals to be EPS officers.

“The RWR program focused on mentorship in 2012 and the same is true today. We’re trained to help people – RWR helps potential applicants with their fitness, their confidence. It’s rewarding to see someone achieve their goals. We are here to help them pursue a policing career, and it starts with a connection. This program allows that connection between police officers and the public in an encouraging environment” said EPS Recruiting Sergeant David Kabyn.