Steinbach feels like home for new Staff Sgt.

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This article was published 29/05/2023 (701 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After 25 years in policing, Staff Sgt. Guy Landreville has seen a lot. But one thing he never tires of is being part of an engaged community, one that is willing and eager to take ownership of community safety and shows pride in their homes.

That’s what he’s found in Steinbach, after taking over the top job of Staff Sgt. of the Steinbach detachment in April, a position that opened up following the retirement of former Staff Sgt. Harold Laninga.

“I love it when people get involved,” he said, saying he appreciates when they want to work with the police and are willing to testify when required.

“I think people want to be part of the solution for the few problems we may have here,” he added. “They don’t just turn the blinders on and walk away. They’re very involved in their community and safety’s very important to them.”

He says his favourite quote comes from American President John F. Kennedy; “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

When he sees families out with the kids in strollers, walking their dogs, Landreville said it’s a sign of a strong community.

“There’s a lot of family pride and that’s a beautiful thing to see, it really is.”

Landreville comes to Steinbach from his last posting as Staff Sgt. at the St Pierre detachment, where he worked since February 2020.

He said this posting is one many in the RCMP would like to have.

“This is a sought after position,” he said, explaining the size of the community and geographic location compared to Winnipeg and outdoors activities such as fishing makes it so.

As a comparison, he said at his first posting in McLennan, Alberta in 1988, the drive to the nearest McDonald’s was two and half hours.

But there’s another reason he wanted to move on to his eleventh posting in his career.

“I always give myself a little bit of an expiry date where I am, and I always look at after two to three years of being somewhere, specifically in a commander role, I tell myself, okay Guy, maybe it’s time to look at somewhere else.”

Much of his career has been spent in a leadership role.

While he began his career as a constable in the Alberta towns of McLennan, Innisfail (two separate postings), and Red Deer (drug investigator), he became a corporal when he was posted to the policing driving unit at the training depot in Regina.

Following that he was promoted to sergeant and was a detachment commander in Spirit River, a watch commander in Grande Prairie, detachment commander in Hanna and sergeant and NCO in Sherwood Park.

He received the rank of staff sergeant when he arrived in St Pierre.

With 35 positions in Steinbach, Landreville said it’s a “very nice size to manage”.

“Everybody is very switched on here and knows exactly what needs to be done,” he said. “What I’ve seen so far is an extremely well-oiled machine here.”

And while he’s worked in friendly communities before, this one has also made an impression, as they’ve welcomed Landreville.

“That’s something I didn’t get as much before, but it seems to be pretty much everyday,” he said.

Landreville said he prefers to lead by allowing others to use their skills.

“I’m not standing over people’s shoulders all day because they’ve earned the right to investigate as they see fit,” he said.

Born in Montreal, Landreville was inspired by an older cousin who was a detective for the Montreal Police.

“I always wanted a job myself that I didn’t have to sit at a desk,” he said before chuckling. “And that’s what I’m doing now, but in the beginning it was different.”

But finding a policing job in the ‘80s was tough with many departments not even accepting applications due to glut of officers.

Both the police department in Montreal and the Ontario Provincial Police were not options because of that, but after being told about the RCMP he decided to try.

“In Montreal, there were 3,500 people on waiting lists ahead of me,” he said when he applied for the RCMP.

Policing was very different in 1988.

Landreville said he was trained on a revolver, which they carried along with two speed loaders, and a handcuff pouch. “That’s it,” he said.

There was no pepper spray, cell phone, tasers, or in-car computer.

Five radio channels were available to be used and the Chevy Impala’s were the common police car. In fact, after his first year, Landreville said the Crown Victorias came to the RCMP, a big deal at the time.

Other things were kept intentionally simple.

“They used to pay our mechanics to take the AM/FM radio out of the police cars because it was considered a distraction,” he said.

Members of the RCMP were also expected to work VOT (voluntary over time) unpaid work totalling 30 to 50 hours a month.

More one on one time was spent in the community, a result of less paperwork than today.

Today a file is automatically created when an officer is dispatched, but back then, it was left to the officer’s discretion to decide if a file was warranted.

Other changes have proven to be positive.

Landreville said when he started, police officers were expected to deal with traumatic events on their own, to be tough and move on.

“Now we do a lot of debriefings,” he said, adding there’s also much greater emphasis on ensuring members are mentally healthy.

And while Landreville is desk-bound more than he used to be, the police radio next to his desk continues to keep him in the loop, and sometimes out of the office.

“I still like the little adrenaline rushes as we say, getting out there and helping if I can,” he said.

Although 25 years have past since he first donned the RCMP uniform, Landreville said helping people remains his goal.

He also foresees the need for more officers and possibly more space as the population continues to increase.

“A lot of these detachments were built in the same era, depending on where you are, so everyone is going through the same growing pains right now,” he said. “But we’re on the list and we’re hoping some reservations get done sooner than later.”

For now, Landreville is enjoying the new job and his life in Steinbach.

“It’s a beautiful city, a beautiful area,” he said. “You’ve got everything here and the big city’s not far and fishing’s not far either.”