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Serving as Mountie a family tradition

RCMP Cst. Lahni McWilliams finds her place on the Aldergrove beat
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KURT LANGMANN PHOTO Cst. Lahni McWilliams is enjoying her first posting in Aldergrove since graduating from the RCMP Depot last year.

It’s been a good first year for a rookie Mountie on her first posting in Aldergrove.

“We have a good team here in Aldergrove,” said RCMP Cst. Lahni McWilliams, flashing one of her trademark smiles.

McWilliams picked the Langley RCMP as her first posting after graduating from RCMP Depot almost one year ago, and was assigned to the C Watch team in Aldergrove under Acting Cpl. Trevor Vandermeer.

“Vandermeer has a wealth of knowledge about the area, and the rest of the team work together and we’re all pro-active in the comunity.”

Being proactive means working with Cpl. Kurt Neuman, who is in charge of community policing in Aldergrove, and being involved in the community, says McWilliams.

“We build positive relations with the kids, by playing basketball or street hockey with them, for example. This opens lines of communications with the kids, as we gain their trust.”

It also means getting out of the cruiser when patroling the parks and school grounds, whether it’s day or night, says McWilliams.

“We have a big area to cover, from Zero Avenue to Gloucester and beyond, and can’t do it on foot or bike, but you still have to walk through the hot spots where people might congregate.”

She has found the public to be very helpful in providing tips about stolen cars being dumped or illegal parking, and the Township of Langley is very good at following through on agreed solutions such as placing concrete berms to block off dumping sites or painting new “no parking” lines at entrances to private driveways that have had illegal parking of cars near the popular new waterpark facility here.

“The Township is awesome at responding and coming up with solutions,” said McWilliams.

She is also quite active in performing enforcement in areas that generate public complaints about speeding, such as Zero Avenue and also 272 Street north of 32nd Ave.

McWilliams is following in the footsteps of her father, retired RCMP Cpl. Al Giesbrecht, who was well known among Langley residents he met during his service with the Langley detachment.

“I talked about going into policing when I was 18-20, but spent a few years working for a logging company first, writing contracts and doing the accounting. I love the system of logic in acconting and find that it helps me in policing as well.

“I also grew up a bit in that job but with the support of my father and boyfriend I was able to pursue a career with the RCMP.

“I am enjoying it very much, working with people and coming up with solutions to problems here.”