Winkler PD chaplain offers members a listening ear
Arnie Klassen retired from the Winkler Police Service in 2022 after a 23-year career in law enforcement, but he’s still a familiar face at the downtown police station.
As Winkler’s first police service chaplain, Klassen stops by a few times a week to provide moral support to the department’s 22 officers.
It’s a role he took on not long after hanging up his own uniform for the last time.
“At my retirement, which is just over two years ago now, they asked if I was willing to stay on in a voluntary position as chaplain,” Klassen recalls. “It started fairly informally because there hasn’t been anybody in that position here before. I didn’t get a specific job description, so I’ve kind of navigated it and tried to figure out what it should look like.”
What it looks like is Klassen popping by during both day and evening shifts to chat with officers about whatever might be on their minds.
“Maintaining a connection is a big part of what I see as the job and a way of being able to support the members—I’m there if the guys need me,” he says, noting he’s also been called to a few critical incidents—high pressure situations where officers could perhaps use someone to talk to about it afterwards. The department also provides its members with access to professional counsellors, but sometimes a more informal approach is appreciated.
It’s a role Chief Ryan Hunt has wanted to introduce to the department for some time.
“Over the years as a constable, I always knew that some police services had chaplains,” he says. “I don’t know how common it is, but I knew when I became chief that was one of the goals that I wanted for the department, was to have a police chaplain here.
“The big part of it for me was that we found the right person … it was important to me that we find somebody that the guys would respect, somebody with integrity and good morals.
“When Arnie retired, we thought maybe this was the perfect opportunity to start down this road,” Hunt says. “It just seemed like a perfect fit, and I really think it has been.
“The guys look up to him, and just the fact that he reaches out to them and opens up that ability for them, if they want to, to talk to him if something comes up,” the chief says, noting he is very much hands-off when it comes to this role within the department—what’s said between Klassen and the officers remains private. “This is just another way we can work towards the wellbeing of our members in a real constructive way.”
The role of a law enforcement officer can really wear on a person, as they deal with traumatic situations and violence on a regular basis, even in a relatively small community like Winkler.
“I’ve often said that policing is different than other frontline emergency personnel in the sense that police officers are always driving around and looking for crime, trying to detect crime and trying to stop crime … and they do it on duty and off. You can never just turn it off,” Hunt says. “It’s a different mindset … and it does weigh on you over the years.
“It’s a tough job, and when officers are struggling, they tend to bring it home too, and that can affect the family,” he says. “I feel it’s so important in a police service to have a person doing exactly what Arnie is doing: connecting with members, talking to them in confidence, supporting them.”
“It’s important that police officers get support, partly because of the traumatic things that they see and experience and witness,” Klassen agrees. “That can be hard on people, psychologically and spiritually.”
The job can also come with more than its fair share of ethical quandaries, he observes.
”There’s also a moral aspect that can be a struggle because you’re required to, you’ve committed to uphold the law, and society has different expectations of what that looks like. There’s sometimes laws that officers have to enforce that they don’t necessarily fully believe in.”
Cynicism is another mental hurdle most every police officer finds themselves battling after they’ve spent any amount of time on the job, Klassen shares.
“I’m a pretty positive person, but there was definitely a period in my policing career where I had to actively combat cynicism and figure out how to get over it because you deal with such a negative aspect of society … so it’s good to have some help with that, support to get through that.”
Klassen is a man of faith, but preaching isn’t a focus of the position. He’s not there to convert, but to provide the religious and non-religious alike with a sympathetic ear and perhaps some sound advice.
“The typical perception of a police chaplain is more of like a preacher or pastor role, but that’s not how I have learned to view it or how I believe it’s effective,” he says. “I do have my own faith and beliefs, but I’m careful not to push those on other people … I don’t expect everyone to have the same faith and beliefs, but I think most people acknowledge some spiritual aspect of their lives. And that’s kind of where I try to find common ground.
“Trust is the biggest thing, and having been an officer and having worked with many of the members that are here, I think I had a head start with gaining that trust. They knew me and they know I know where they’re coming from, because I’ve done the job,” Klassen says. “So it’s about maintaining that trust relationship and then showing an interest in their work and personal lives and trying to make sure that they know and understand that I’m available for any kind of support they might need.”
Klassen has really thrown himself into this new role, getting involved as a member of the Canadian Police Chaplains Association and attending educational seminars. He’s been gratified to hear from members that his efforts are making a difference.
“My position is kind of on the sidelines, and people don’t maybe acknowledge or realize the value in it, but I have received several comments of appreciation and thanks for my role and a few things that I’ve done, so that has gone a long way to encourage me that this is a worthwhile position.”
