On August 26, Sgt. Derek Friesen joined the Canora/Sturgis RCMP as Detachment Commander after spending the previous four-and-a-half years with the Indian Head RCMP.
Friesen grew up in Moose Jaw, and like many other Saskatchewan kids, he enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities. He said his main areas of interest were football, baseball and riding bike.
“I have wanted to be a police officer ever since I was about nine or ten years old,” said Friesen. “I had the good fortune of going on a few ride-alongs with the RCMP when I was in high school.”
After high school, Friesen attended Medicine Hat College, graduating with a police and security diploma.
“From there I moved on to the RCMP Depot in Regina and completed the six-month basic training program,” recalled Friesen. “I got my first posting in Thompson, Man. as a constable and worked there for two-and-a-half years.”
Friesen proceeded to gain considerable experience across northern Manitoba. From Thompson he moved on to the fly-in community of Shamattawa, located just south of Hudson’s Bay, where he was stationed for two years. He was then transferred to The Pas, and worked there for two-and-a-half years. While working in northern Manitoba, Friesen said he was very busy and gained considerable experience in dealing with violent crimes, disturbances and mischiefs to property.
“I managed to take advantage of some opportunities for fishing, snowmobiling and ATV riding,” said Friesen.
The next stepping stone in his career was a transfer to southern Saskatchewan.
“I spent the next four years at Coronach, less than a 20 km drive from the Montana border,” recalled Friesen. “I went from being incredibly busy to a pretty slow pace with not very many calls. We had the opportunity to do a good deal of proactive policing in and around Coronach including patrolling and traffic enforcement.”
Friesen was subsequently promoted to corporal and transferred to Indian Head in March of 2015, where he spent almost four-and-a-half years. In August of this year he was promoted to Canora as sergeant.
“One of my first goals is to get to know the community and our large detachment patrol area,” he said.
The boundaries of the area served by the Canora Detachment are six miles north of Usherville into the Porcupine Forest to the north and Ebenezer to the south. The eastern boundary is five miles east of Mikado and the western boundary is less than one kilometre east of Invermay.
Friesen said he finds it exciting to be a police officer and serve the community.
“I go to work and every day is different,” he explained. “I enjoy working at ensuring the community feels safe. I don’t like it when people are bullies and take advantage of others. I like to meet people from all parts of society, whether they’re rich or poor, young or old, or somewhere in between.”
As the new Detachment Commander for Canora and Sturgis, Friesen said he’s looking forward to applying the experience he has gained during his wide-ranging career.
He said a big part of his job is finding future police officers. In the past, many Saskatchewan recruits came from farms across the province, but that number has greatly decreased in recent years.
“No matter how young they are, I encourage anyone interested in possibly becoming a police officer to contact me or any other detachment members,” said Friesen. “We would be more than willing to answer questions and provide any information they need.”
Friesen and his wife Michelle live in Canora with their four children: Owen, 12; Declan, eight; Kais, two and Emilee, their only daughter, is five months old.
Friesen said even though he has only been working in Canora for a few weeks, he is impressed by the friendliness of the people.
“I’m excited to get involved,” he said. “It’s nice that there are lots of extra-curricular activities in Canora schools. Our older boys are involved in hockey, so that should be a good opportunity to meet people and get integrated into the community.”
