Born to be a recruiter – Sharing her passion to help others reach theirs

Island District, B.C.

2024-12-04 09:05 PST

Some people are born into this world and naturally gravitate towards a certain career as it becomes second nature to them. They are passionate about it and truly love what they do and that positivity rubs off on everyone no matter where they go. And that is the case with RCMP Constable Samantha Haldane.

Constable Haldane, who also goes by Sam, was born in BC and joined the RCMP in March of 2005.

Since I was a young child, I knew I wanted to be a Mountie, said Sam who wanted her own children to learn that police officers can be our family, friends, and support network.

I had always wanted to be in policing and thought it would be a good fit. I grew up in a time when the idea of women in policing was not common and would hear remarks from people about how I could not compete against the men or how I wasn’t going to meet the standards. So true to my personality, I did everything I could to make sure I had everything on my resume, live a lifestyle that would be accommodating, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I received encouragement from certain family members, teachers and friends who pushed me to fulfill my dream, said Sam.

With almost 21 years-of-service, Sam began her career in Port Alberni where she was for four years before being offered a recruiting position at the RCMP Island District office in Victoria, BC. She held this position for six years before transferring to Sooke detachment for 9 years of frontline policing. In April 2024, her enthusiasm for recruiting was remembered by so many that she was seconded back into the role of recruiting for the RCMP Island District, the position she currently holds.

When I was selected as a cadet, I had told the RCMP that I would one day work in Recruiting. I wanted to help shape recruiting by encouraging more women to apply, educate on the criteria of who or what might be a good police officer and emphasize that it doesn’t exactly look the same for everyone on the resume, said Sam.

Her current role as the RCMP Island District recruiter entails attending the various detachments on Vancouver Island to provide information to RCMP employees, providing presentations to the public, attending expos and career fairs, local community events, partnering with various agencies, as well as attending high schools and universities.

I am pro-actively looking for people who might be interested in a career in policing and explaining our process, answer questions, and seeing who might want to join our organization, explains Sam.

I love meeting new people and sharing the fulfilling career opportunity as a police officer, when I travel around the island hosting recruiting events. It is also so rewarding for me to see police officers at the detachments I travel to who I recruited and now I get to see them beside me in uniform, she adds.

There are over 150 different types of roles to choose from in the RCMP with positions across the country allowing anyone to find something that matches their personality and gain a fulfilling career all with the ability to try something new in various positions, live in different places if they wish, and never be bored in their career.

This career is like no other and so worthwhile. You can join at any age over 18 years old and you don’t want to look back in life and regret not trying or that it’s too late. Just apply and just what happens. You’ll likely be pleasantly surprised at all that this career has to offer, said Sam.

Cst. Haldane is often called the Candy Constable as she loves giving candy away at events and out of her police car on Halloween. You can find her at the next Vancouver Island event with this recruiting events schedule.

Released by:
BC RCMP Communications
778-290-2929

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