CPS Member Spotlight On Sergeant Randy Curr
written by JaimeKristal Lott
Being born into a military family, it is no surprise Randy Curr’s upbringing lead him to a career in public service. At first you might assume he preferred policing to the military in order to settle down in one place, but his family was among the lucky few who did not have to relocate very often. In fact, Sergeant Curr spent most of his formative years on the west coast of Canada —namely Alberta and Manitoba.
Sergeant Curr stayed in Alberta when he went to college to get his Police Foundations diploma but did have a brief foray into Montana when he continued his education to acquire a degree in Criminal Justice. The real change happened when he got his first position with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service. The community he was assigned to was so remote there were no roads, you had to fly in. They had just one community phone and just one police officer: Constable Curr.
The constable got to experience a sample of the challenges the First Nations people face. Living in such a remote location has limits on education, health care, equalities, and even caused some language barriers. The children of this community have to leave their families and live in a bigger city just to attend high school where it is a completely different culture. Similarly, Constable Curr left his home to live in a place unlike he had ever known.
Though a valuable experience, something that shaped him and how he interacts with others, being the sole officer in any community can take a toll. When you work all day every day for 365 days of the year, your health can be affected and you risk burning out. After four years with the Oji-Cree community, Constable Curr decided it was time to make a change and applied for a position with Cobourg Police Services (CPS).
Constable Curr eventually became Sergeant Curr with his own platoon of four. As a road supervisor, he is the guy who gets things done. Along with answering his own calls and accompanying paperwork, Sergeant Curr is the support system for the constables under his charge and that includes ensuring their paperwork is also accurate and complete. (As an interesting side note, the forms given to a crown attorney after someone has been criminally charged —the one that describes the circumstances and gives supporting evidence— are apparently called a “crown brief”.)
But that is not all Sergeant Curr does because he has taken an interest in the hiring procedure at CPS. New recruits have to go through a rigorous interview process that includes written portions, interviews, psychological testing, background checks, and more. Sergeant Curr is one of three people at the station who is currently qualified to conduct the interviews.
“Knowing my own trials and tribulations getting into policing gave me some interest in being involved at this level. It is always interesting to see the type of people getting into policing, there are a lot of diverse personalities. I want to be part of the direction the service takes in the future in terms of staffing, it is important to have good people in this job.”
Sergeant Curr says there is no particular character trait they look for in a new recruit — though there are a lot of A-type personalities— but did make some suggestions when asked what advice he might give to someone interested in becoming an officer. He said it is a full-time job just to get into policing so you need to have a lot of perseverance. There will be rejection and those aspiring for a position need to be prepared for that.
To be competitive in your chosen field a potential recruit needs to build their resume by continuously improving themselves through education and volunteerism. Sergeant Curr warns “the job isn’t going to come to you” but rather you have to actively go after it. By the sounds of things, a police officer needs to be fully committed, determined, a team player, show intelligence, be ready for anything at any time, plus be always willing to learn and grow. Not to mention, you need to be okay with doing a ton of paperwork.
By the time an applicant has reached the final assessment, Sergeant Curr says it is clear who is the best candidate. Certain people set themselves apart from the rest and simply rise to the top. They may not always be perfect every single day, but there is something that shines through and proves they have what it takes to be an officer.
Sergeant Curr’s career aspirations are not for himself but for others and the Cobourg Police Service. He intends to continue being a part of the hiring process and acting as a mentor for those under his care. Sergeant Curr’s aim is simply to ensure the other officers at CPS have only the best recruits to work alongside because, given how dangerous policing can sometimes be, you have to be able to trust your partner with your life.
“I want to have contributed something to the service, I want to leave the place better than when I arrived.”