Andrew Simmons has devoted nearly 4,000 hours volunteering as an auxiliary constable with the St. Albert RCMP detachment.
It took him 15 years to pile up the hours and he was honoured recently with a 15-year service award from the force.
Staff-Sgt. Terry Kohlhauser, acting commander of the detachment, presented Simmons with a plaque bearing the crests of the RCMP and the Solicitor General of Alberta to honour his long-term volunteer work helping to fight crime.
Simmons joined the Alberta RCMP Auxiliary Constable Program on Dec. 3, 1996 and over the last 15 years, he has donated 3,976 hours of his volunteer time to wearing an auxiliary constable uniform and working alongside RCMP officers.
The Auxiliary Constable Program is a volunteer program intended to enhance community-based policing and provide an opportunity for citizens to participate in law enforcement on an organized basis. Auxiliary constables provide a complementary service, assisting regular members of the RCMP under their supervision.
The program is funded by the Alberta Solicitor General Department and volunteers from the program are registered as Emergency Services Workers through Alberta Municipal Affairs, Emergency Management Alberta and are sometimes called upon to assist the RCMP in an emergency.
There are currently six auxiliary constables working with the St. Albert RCMP where they have been regularly patrolling the streets with the officers, working at the Rainmaker Rodeo, handing out flyers to remind residents to lock up their vehicles, or giving tours of the detachment to youth groups.
Simmons is the third auxiliary constable this past year to be honoured for long-term service. In May, Terry Cipywnyk received his 15-year plaque for service and Rick Fuller was presented a 10-year award.
In 2010, the Auxiliary Constable Program in St. Albert donated 2,579 hours of their time to the community — almost the equivalent of one full-time police officer.
